THE 
CHURCH  AT   LIBERTYVILLE 


CfwrcfjatlUbertiMUe 


AS  SEEN  BY 
THOMAS  BRADLEY 


Edited  by 
JOHN  WESLEY  CONLEY,   D.  D. 


That  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorious  church 

—Paul 


Philadelphia 
©rif fitft  anb  J%otolanb 
1630  Chestnut  Street 


Copyright  1906  by  the 
AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


Published  January,  1907 


from  tbe  Society's  own 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  EXPLANATORY 7 

II.  A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE 12 

III.  MRS.  PAXTON  AND  THE  MISSION  SUNDAY- 

SCHOOL  21 

IV.  THE  PASTOR'S  VACATION 33 

V.  CHIEFLY  CONCERNING  MRS.  DOLITTLE  .   .    46 

VI.  JUDGE  STRAIGHT  AND  SOME  OTHERS  ...    59 

VII.  WINDS  OF  DOCTRINE 73 

VIII.  THE  FINANCE  COMMITTEE 85 

IX.  THE  SEXTON  AND  OTHER  TROUBLES  ...    98 

X.  CONTRARY  MINDS 109 

XI.  CONTENDING  FOR  THE  FAITH 122 

XII.  FINDING  A  PASTOR 138 

XIII.  AUNT  DORCAS 158 

XIV.  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS 172 

XV.  A  FAITHFUL  STEWARD 187 


THE    CHURCH    AT 
LIBERTYVILLE 


^explanatory 

[IBERTYVILLE  is  a  flourishing 
Western  town,  or  city  its  residents 
call  it.  It  is  something  of  a  rail- 
road center,  has  a  variety  of  factories,  and 
is  surrounded  by  a  broad  stretch  of  exceed- 
ingly fertile  farming  country.  It  has  a 
thoroughly  mixed  population,  all  classes,  all 
sections  of  the  country,  and  many  foreign 
lands  being  well  represented.  It  has  its  full 
share  of  the  enterprise,  boastfulness,  demo- 
cratic spirit,  conceit,  interest  in  politics,  and 
carelessness  about  religion,  characteristic  of 
some  portions,  at  least,  of  the  section  of 
the  country  in  which  it  is  located. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  was  organized 
back  in  the  fifties,  and  for  many  years  has 
been  one  of  the  leading  churches  of  the 
7 


Cbe  Gbuccb  at 

place.  It  has  had  an  interesting  history 
and,  on  the  whole,  has  had  a  prosperous 
career.  Of  course  it  has  had  its  ups  and 
downs.  It  had  a  long  struggle  with  a  bur- 
densome debt  which  an  over-ambitious  pas- 
tor encouraged  it  to  incur,  but  did  not  help 
it  pay;  for  when  the  debt  began  to  be 
troublesome,  he  resigned  and  went  to 
another  church  to  lead  it  in  a  building  and 
mortgaging  enterprise.  He  claimed  that  a 
church  debt  is  a  good  thing,  and  his  con- 
duct showed  that  he  regarded  it  as  a  good 
thing  to  run  away  from. 

I  remember  that  it  was  a  day  of  great 
rejoicing  in  the  Libertyville  church  when 
the  mortgage  papers  were  burned.  But 
there  were  other  troubles  besides  the  debt. 
I  distinctly  recall  one  time  when  the  work 
was  not  going  on  satisfactorily ;  in  fact  con- 
ditions were  very  discouraging.  Two  of 
the  deacons  became  fully  convinced  that  the 
difficulty  was  with  the  pastor,  and  that  his 
usefulness  on  that  field  was  ended,  and 
finally,  after  they  had  frequently  conferred 
together  upon  the  subject,  and  had  taken  a 
few  others  into  their  confidence,  they  de- 
cided that  it  was  their  duty  "  to  wait  upon  " 
their  pastor  and  tell  him  how  they  felt. 
With  a  solemn  sense  of  the  responsibility 
8 


Biplanatorg 

resting  upon  them,  and  of  their  own  un- 
worthiness  and  with  most  earnest  assur- 
ances of  their  great  love  for  him,  and  for 
the  church,  they  told  him  that  they  thought 
his  work  in  Libertyville  was  done  and  sug- 
gested that  in  the  near  future  he  resign. 
Of  course  they  wanted  him  to  take  a  little 
time  to  look  around  and  secure  another  pas- 
torate; but  greatly  to  their  surprise  he  did 
not  appreciate  their  great  kindness  and 
their  disinterested  and  unselfish  motives  in 
coming  to  him,  and  told  them  that  if  they 
would  mind  their  own  business  and  not  go 
around  talking  to  everybody  about  the  pas- 
tor it  would  be  much  better  for  them  and 
for  the  church,  and  that  he  did  not  believe 
the  church  would  ever  prosper  until  there 
were  some  radical  changes  in  its  official 
Board. 

On  the  following  Sunday  he  told  the 
church  that  two  of  the  deacons  had  asked 
him  to  resign,  and  that  he  would  leave  at 
once  if  the  people  wanted  him  to  go,  but 
that  he  would  never  be  driven  out  by  a 
couple  of  meddlesome  deacons,  who  were 
trying  to  run  things  in  a  high-handed  way. 
I  think  he  pursued  an  unwise  course.  Sev- 
eral stormy  business  meetings  followed,  and 
when  the  air  cleared  again  it  was  found 
9 


Cbc  Cburcb  at  libertcvUIc 

that  the  pastor  and  the  two  deacons  had 
all  resigned. 

There  were  other  periods  of  brief  dis- 
turbance, but  all  things  considered,  it  was 
a  prosperous  and  harmonious  church,  and 
was  widely  known  for  its  good  works. 

But  I  must  explain  how  it  happens  that 
I  am  writing  about  the  Libertyville  church. 
For  thirty  years,  from  1868,  when  I  came 
to  Libertyville  to  engage  in  business,  until 
1898,  when  I  retired  from  business  and  re- 
moved to  another  city  to  make  my  home,  I 
was  an  active  member  of  this  church. 

Having  leisure  now  I  find  my  mind  dwell- 
ing upon  the  experiences  of  those  years, 
and  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  others  might 
be  interested  in  some  of  the  things  which 
interest  me  so  much.  I  do  not  want  to 
gossip  about  my  old  friends,  but  I  have  a 
feeling  that  they  are  friends  who  are  worth 
knowing,  and  that  it  will  be  of  profit  to 
others  to  become  acquainted  with  them. 

I  have  no  thought  of  attempting  to  write 
a  history  of  the  church ;  few  would  care  to 
read  that ;  but  I  simply  want  to  write  down 
what  comes  to  me  as  I  live  over  again  in 
memory  the  delightful  years  I  spent  in  the 
dear  old  church.  I  want  to  tell  of  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  good  folks  whom  I  knew, 
10 


Explanatory 

and  introduce  them  to  any  who  may  care 
to  read  what  I  shall  write. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  I  may  deal  justly 
and  kindly  with  all  whom  I  may  mention. 
It  is  possible  that  I  shall  make  some  mis- 
takes, as  some  things  which  I  shall  record 
are  based  upon  hearsay,  and  then  too,  my 
memory  may  be  at  fault  sometimes;  but  I 
shall  be  careful  and  try  not  to  do  injustice 
to  any  one.  I  trust  that  I  may  have  as 
generous  an  appreciation  of  the  virtues  of 
my  friends,  and  as  charitable  a  view  of  their 
faults,  as  I  want  them  to  have  of  mine. 

I  have  a  good  friend  who  writes  poetry, 
although  he  insists  that  he  simply  writes 
rhymes  and  that  it  should  not  be  dignified 
with  the  name  poetry.  Well,  be  that  as  it 
may,  he  gets  some  excellent  thoughts  into 
his  rhymes,  and  that  is  more  than  some 
poets  do.  I  have  persuaded  him  to  do  some 
writing  for  me  to  liven  up  a  little  these 
reminiscences. 

As  I  look  over  the  years  spent  in  the 
Libertyville  church  I  heartily  approve  the 
following,  which  he  handed  to  me  a  few 
days  ago : 

There  are  many,  many  good  folks, 
That  down  here  we  live  among; 

II 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at 


Tis  the  bad  and  not  the  good  ones, 
Who  are  likely  to  die  young. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  good  folks, 
They  belong  to  different  lots; 

Some  are  good,  real  good  all  over, 
Some  are  only  good  in  spots. 

Some  are  good  from  love  or  duty, 
Some  are  good  because  of  fear; 

Some  are  frank  and  open-hearted, 
Some  are  just  a  little  queer. 


II 

a  Case  ot  £>iscipltne 

There  are  those  who  are  good, 

But  sorely  they  try  us, 
For  it  seems  that  their  goodness 

Is  cut  on  the  bias. 

JOR  many  years  I  was  one  of  the 
deacons  of  the  Libertyville  church ; 
and  I  have  a  distinct  recollection 
of  the  brethren  who  served  with  me  and  of 
many  of  our  meetings.  They  were  all  good 
men,  but  differed  widely  in  their  way  of 
looking  at  things,  and  sometimes  we  had 
questions  before  us  upon  which  it  was  not 
easy  for  us  to  reach  an  agreement.  There 

12 


Zl  Case  of  Discipline 

comes  to  my  mind  now  the  meeting  at 
which  we  considered  the  case  of  Harry 
Weeks.  The  deacons  were  all  present — 
Stearns,  Goodwill,  Smith,  Eager,  Perkins, 
myself,  and  Doctor  Spear.  I  say  "  Doctor," 
for  he  was  particular  about  having  his  hon- 
orary title  employed,  although  he  had  been 
out  of  the  active  ministry  for  many  years 
and  had  been  giving  his  time  to  secular  af- 
fairs. He  was  always  careful  to  put  in  the 
"  D.  D."  when  he  signed  his  name,  and  Mrs. 
Spear  habitually  referred  to  him  as  "  the 
doctor."  There  were  two  things  about  him 
which  I  was  never  able  fully  to  under- 
stand— one  was,  how  he  secured  his  doctor- 
ate, and  the  other  was,  why  he  quit  preach- 
ing. I  may  say  in  passing,  although  I 
cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it,  that  it  was 
currently  reported  that  he  contributed  a 
generous  sum  of  money  to  a  small  college, 
and  also  made  large  promises  in  the  way  of 
influence,  and  that  the  college  out  of  grati- 
tude for  such  disinterested  kindness  con- 
ferred this  degree  upon  him.  This  is  prob- 
ably a  correct  explanation,  for  he  certainly 
was  not  thus  honored  because  of  large 
scholastic  attainments,  or  marked  success 
in  the  ministry.  As  to  his  giving  up  the 
pastorate,  he  reported  that  he  quit  preach- 


ttbe  Cbutcb  at  XibertsviUe 

ing  because  of  throat  trouble  and  failure  of 
his  voice.  But  if  this  were  the  case  he  must 
have  made  a  remarkable  recovery,  for  dur- 
ing my  long  acquaintance  with  him  his  voice 
was  the  strongest  thing  about  him.  Some 
said  his  second  wife's  money  had  something 
to  do  with  his  giving  up  the  ministry,  but 
I  do  not  know  about  this  and  I  must  not 
gossip.  I  do  know,  however,  that  he 
married  a  wealthy  widow. 

At  the  time  of  this  particular  meeting  to 
consider  the  case  of  Harry  Weeks,  Rev. 
Joshua  Green  was  pastor.  He  was  a  young 
man  fresh  from  the  theological  seminary 
and  had  some  rather  over-wrought  views  as 
to  the  necessity  of  church  discipline.  He 
preached  a  sermon  on  the  subject,  in  which 
he  said :  "  The  church  is  weighted  down, 
handicapped,  and  corrupted  with  a  worldly, 
sinful,  and  unworthy  membership.  Judg- 
ment must  begin  at  the  house  of  God,  the 
Augean  stables  must  be  cleansed;  our  first 
work  must  be  with  a  whip  of  small  cords, 
that  the  church  of  God  may  be  purified  and 
made  meet  for  the  Master's  use."  This  ser- 
mon was  preached  the  Sunday  before  the 
deacons'  meeting  of  which  I  am  about  to  tell 
you.  The  pastor  called  the  meeting  to  or- 
der and  after  a  few  preliminary  matters  had 
14 


B  Case  ot  EMscipltne 

been  disposed  of  he  said :  "  Now,  brethren, 
we  will  listen  to  the  report  of  our  committee 
on  the  case  of  Mr.  Harry  Weeks."  Deacon 
Stearns,  who  regarded  it  as  his  special 
prerogative  to  serve  as  chairman  of  all  such 
committees,  had  been  duly  appointed  at  a 
previous  meeting.  He  was  a  small,  spare 
man,  who  looked  and  acted  as  though  he 
thought  it  a  sin  to  enjoy  anything  in  this 
life,  and  especially  anything  that  ministered 
to  the  wants  of  the  body.  He  was  given  to 
various  dietetic  vagaries  and  rarely  ate 
more  than  two  meals  a  day,  and  his  looks 
indicated  that  they  did  not  agree  with  him. 

"  In  cooking  for  Obadiah,"  his  wife  had 
been  heard  to  say,  "  I  do  not  have  to  consult 
his  taste,  for  he  never  eats  anything  because 
he  likes  it." 

He  was  somewhat  stooped,  and  his  head, 
set  well  forward  on  his  shoulders,  gave  his 
long  nose  a  peculiarly  insinuating  appear- 
ance. His  face  always  wore  the  determined 
look  of  the  man  who  never  questions  his 
own  opinions,  and  who  knows  no  difference 
between  a  mountain  and  a  mole-hill.  Called 
upon  to  report,  he  arose  and  solemnly  wiped 
and  adjusted  his  spectacles,  drew  a  formid- 
able-looking paper  from  his  side  pocket, 
cleared  his  throat  and  read: 

IS 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

WHEREAS,  Mr.  Harry  Weeks,  a  member  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  of  Libertyville,  has  so  far 
forgotten  his  covenant  obligations  as  to  disgrace 
himself  and  scandalize  the  church  by  becoming 
openly  intoxicated;  and 

WHEREAS,  for  the  church  to  continue  in  its 
membership  persons  guilty  of  outbreaking  sin  is 
for  it  to  become  partaker  with  them  in  guilt, 
therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we,  the  deacons  of  said  church, 
do  hereby  recommend  that  the  hand  of  fellowship 
be  withdrawn  from  the  said  Harry  Weeks,  and 
that  he  be  duly  excluded  from  the  church. 
(Signed)     DEACON  OBADIAH  STEARNS, 
REV.  JABEZ  SPEAR,  D.  D., 

Committee. 

Following  the  reading  of  this  report, 
the  pastor  said :  "  I  greatly  regret  the  ne- 
cessity for  such  severe  measures,  but  since 
coming  to  Libertyville,  I  have  noted  with 
increasing  concern  the  laxity  of  discipline 
in  the  church  and  the  growing  spirit  of 
worldliness,  and  feel  that  it  is  time  for 
the  work  of  purifying  the  church  to  begin." 

"  I  would  like  to  ask,"  said  Charley  Good- 
will— I  call  him  Charley,  for  that  is  what 
everybody  called  him — "  if  the  committee 
saw  Harry  and  tried  to  help  him  back  to 
the  right  way  of  living." 

"  Permit  me  to  say  in  behalf  of  the 
committee,"  replied  Doctor  Spear,  "  that 
16 


B  Case  of  Discipline 

we  waited  upon  Mr.  Weeks,  and  found  him 
uncommunicative  and  apparently  wanting 
in  any  proper  appreciation  of  the  enormity 
and  disgraceful  character  of  his  sin.  He 
said  he  was  sorry  and  that  he  did  not  want 
to  be  turned  out  of  the  church,  but  he  also 
said  that  he  did  not  believe  your  committee 
had  the  remotest  idea  of  what  his  tempta- 
tions were.  Just  as  though  a  mere  boy 
could  teach  men  of  our  experience.  We 
labored  faithfully  with  him,  but  saw  no 
evidence  of  godly  repentance,  and  so  were 
compelled  to  report  as  we  have." 

"Yes,"  added  Deacon  Stearns,  "I  fully 
agree  with  the  pastor,  that  this  is  a  time  for 
decisive  action.  I  never  was  in  favor  of 
taking  that  scapegrace  Weeks  into  the 
church.  I  knew  he  would  not  hold  out, 
and  have  been  looking  for  just  this  thing. 
He  was  brought  up  a  Unitarian  and  never 
had  any  clear  understanding  of  the  doc- 
trines of  grace,  and  the  sooner  we  cut  him 
off  the  better  for  the  church ;  and  there  are 
others  who  must  mend  their  ways  or  they 
will  have  to  go  too.  I  am  thankful  the 
good  work  is  begun,  and  that  we  have  a 
pastor  who  believes  in  vigorous  church 
discipline." 

"  But,"  said  Deacon  Perkins,  "  we  who 
B  17 


fcbe  Cburcb  at 

are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of 
the  weak.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that 
church  discipline  means  to  save,  rather  than 
to  cast  out.  It  was  said  of  the  Master, 
'  A  bruised  reed  will  he  not  break  and 
smoking  flax  will  he  not  quench.'  If  there 
is  any  hope  at  all  of  saving  Harry  Weeks, 
I  am  in  favor  of  giving  him  another  trial." 
"  That  is  just  my  idea  exactly,"  broke 
in  Charley  Goodwill,  "  and  now  let  me  tell 
you  what  I  did.  I  was  not  appointed  on 
any  committee,  but  I  went  to  see  Harry, 
poor  fellow,  on  my  own  responsibility ;  and 
I  found  him  sick  and  broken-hearted.  He 
said  he  meant  to  do  right,  and  for  months 
fought  an  awful  appetite  and  was  appar- 
ently getting  the  better  of  it,  and  prayed 
constantly  for  God  to  help  him.  He  said 
no  one  who  had  not  experienced  it  could 
ever  know  what  such  a  struggle  meant.  He 
has  to  work  very  hard,  and  last  week  some 
special  orders  came  in  at  the  factory  and 
he  had  to  work  all  night ;  and  in  the  morn- 
ing just  as  he  was  starting  for  his  room, 
tired,  half -sick,  and  terribly  depressed,  a 
man  offered  him  a  drink  of  beer.  He  said 
that  in  an  instant  it  seemed  as  though  he 
was  possessed  with  the  very  demons  of 
darkness,  and  reason  and  everything  else 
18 


a  Cade  of  Discipline 

were  swallowed  up  and  he  knew  nothing 
but  an  insane  desire  to  drink,  and  he  seized 
the  cup  and  drank  it  and  went  down.  He 
said  he  loved  the  church,  and  that  the  few 
months  he  had  been  a  member  had  been  the 
best  of  his  life,  and  that  he  would  like  to 
try  again,  but  he  was  so  weak  and  so  dis- 
graced that  he  feared  there  was  no  use  of 
his  trying  any  more.  He  cried  like  a  child 
and  seemed  to  be  standing  right  on  the 
brink  of  the  pit  of  despair,  and  if  we  take 
this  action  I  believe  we  will  push  him  off. 
I  tell  you,  brethren,  I  will  never  vote  for 
that  report.  If  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  for  anything  in  this  world  it  is  to  help 
such  poor  fellows." 

"  Praise  the  Lord,"  said  Deacon  Eager. 

Deacon  Stearns  again  spoke :  "  I  would 
not  belittle  the  view  taken  by  Brother  Good- 
will, but  this  is  not  a  question  to  be  de- 
cided by  emotion  or  sentiment;  we  must 
recognize  the  dignity  of  our  position  as  the 
conservators  of  the  purity  of  the  church, 
and  must  act  from  a  stern  sense  of  duty. 
'  If  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off.' " 

"  But,"     exclaimed     Charley     Goodwill, 

"  Harry  Weeks  is  not  the  right  hand  of  this 

church,  but  he  is  a  weak  member,  needing 

our  patience  and  help,  and  I  would  rather 

19 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

cut  off  my  right  hand  than  raise  it  in  vote 
to  expel  the  poor  fellow  from  the  church." 

Deacon  Smith,  a  middle-aged,  intelligent, 
broad-minded  man,  now  spoke :  "  I  appre- 
ciate the  fact  that  there  are  times  when  se- 
vere measures  of  discipline  are  necessary. 
Amputation  in  surgery  is  sometimes  de- 
manded, but  the  first  thought  is  to  save  if 
possible.  So  in  the  church,  exclusion  should 
be  the  last  resort  after  all  other  measures 
have  failed.  This  is  Harry  Weeks'  first  of- 
fense. I  am  most  heartily  in  favor  of  giv- 
ing him  another  trial,  not  to  watch  him  and 
suspect  him,  but  to  get  close  to  him  and 
help  him.  Perhaps  we  ought  to  regard  it 
as  giving  us  another  chance  rather  than 
him,  for  I  must  confess  that  I  fear  I  have 
not  done  my  duty  in  trying  to  help  him  to 
better  things." 

The  pastor  added,  "  Perhaps  I  have  not 
given  sufficient  thought  to  this  aspect  of 
church  discipline.  At  all  events,  I  am  in 
favor  of  giving  Harry  Weeks  another 
chance." 

But  Deacon  Stearns  was  not  satisfied. 
"  I  have  heard  this  kind  of  talk  before.  It 
will  do  no  good.  I  had  hoped  that  the  day 
for  better  things  had  come.  But  since  you 
all  seem  opposed  to  this  report  I  have  con- 
20 


Olce.  parton  an£>  tbe  mtddton  SunDas*scbool 

ferred  with  Doctor  Spear  and  if  there  is 
no  objection  we  will  withdraw  it  and  con- 
sider ourselves  relieved  from  all  further 
responsibility  in  this  matter." 

"  If  there  is  no  objection,"  said  the  pas- 
tor, "  the  report  is  withdrawn,  and  Brother 
Harry  Weeks  will  continue  a  member  of 
this  church." 

There  was  no  objection. 


Ill 
fflrs.  parton  anO  tbe  mission 


Some  are  good,  so  very  good, 

They  never  halt  nor  waver, 
But  their  goodness  is  the  insipid  sort, 

Which  has  no  strength  nor  flavor. 

|HEN  my  poetic  friend  handed  me 
the  above  I  thought  at  once  of  Mrs. 
Paxton  and  her  experience  in  the 
mission  Sunday-school. 

Shortly  after  Rev.  Joshua  Green  became 
our  pastor  he  insisted  that  our  church  must 
have  a  mission,  and  he  selected  what  was 
known  as  "  Squatters'  Ranch  "  as  a  suitable 
location  for  it. 

21 


Cbc  Cburcb  at  Xibcrtvvillc 

Trustee  Slocum  was  afraid  the  church 
could  not  stand  the  additional  expense,  and 
thought  we  had  work  enough  in  our  church 
school,  without  bothering  ourselves  about 
the  hoodlums  of  that  disreputable  part  of 
the  city. 

Mrs.  Paxton  said :  "  I  am  delighted 
with  our  dear  pastor's  plan;  we  ought  to 
have  more  interest  in  these  poor,  dear  chil- 
dren, whose  lives  are  so  restricted  and 
whose  hungry  hearts  are  continually  yearn- 
ing for  better  things.  I  for  one  shall  place 
myself  upon  the  altar  for  this  work." 

Mrs.  Paxton  was  a  good  woman.  When 
pressed  for  an  opinion  all  her  neighbors 
would  admit  this.  She  had  been  a  faithful 
member  of  the  church  many  years.  The 
chief  characteristic  of  her  face  was  a  sweet, 
sickly,  wearisome  smile,  which  was  always 
there,  and  which  was  as  expressionless  as 
the  windows  to  a  vacant  house.  But  Mrs. 
Paxton  was  a  good  woman,  so  good,  in  fact, 
that  ordinary  people  did  not  care  to  be 
with  her  very  much. 

At  one  time  Deacon  Eager  felt  called 
upon  to  urge  Mr.  Paxton  to  come  into 
the  church,  but  he  replied :  "  We  have  too 
much  religion  in  the  family  already,  and 
I  am  not  willing  to  get  any  until  Mrs.  Pax- 
22 


fflrs.  parton  an&  tbe  mission  Sun&as*gcbool 

ton  reduces  her  investment."  Now  that  I 
have  referred  to  her  domestic  affairs  I  am 
reminded  of  her  first  husband,  and  before 
telling  of  her  mission  Sunday-school  experi- 
ence I  think  I  must  say  just  a  word  about 
her  resignation  at  the  time  of  his  death,  as 
many  spoke  of  it  at  the  time. 

Mrs.  Sharp  declared :  "  She  certainly  did 
not  love  him  very  much  or  she  could  not 
smile  as  she  does  whenever  his  death  is 
mentioned." 

The  pastor  told  me  in  confidence  that 
she  actually  asked  him  to  have  the  doxology 
sung  at  the  funeral.  I  suppose  we  ought 
not  to  talk  about  such  things,  but  I  must 
say  that  her  resignation  seemed  to  me  to  be 
a  little  overdone.  I  do  not  think  Mrs.  Sharp 
was  right  in  attributing  it  to  lack  of  love 
for  her  husband,  but  it  was  simply  her  way 
of  doing. 

When  my  wife  said  to  her :  "  My  dear 
sister,  you  have  my  deepest  sympathy  in 
your  great  bereavement,"  she  smiled  and  re- 
plied :  "  It  is  all  right ;  I  would  not  bring 
him  back  if  I  could." 

When  Mrs.  Sharp  heard  this  she  said: 
"  Poor  man ;  I  don't  believe  he  would  come 
back  if  he  could." 

But  then  Mrs.  Sharp  was  never  very 
23 


Cburcb  at  Xtbettsvtlle 

charitable  in  her  judgments.  Still,  Deacon 
Perkins,  who  was  present  during  his  last 
hours,  said  that  when  he  was  told  that  he 
had  but  a  short  time  to  live  he  gave  a  sigh 
as  of  relief  and  said :  "  I  am  willing  to  go ; 
I  don't  care  to  stay  here  any  longer." 

I  admit  that  Mrs.  Sharp  probably  mis- 
interpreted his  meaning,  still  I  do  think 
Deacon  Perkins  was  right  when  he  said: 
"  There  is  such  a  thing  as  being  too  re- 
signed." But  I  must  come  back  to  the 
mission  Sunday-school  in  "  Squatters' 
Ranch." 

Pastor  Green  called  a  number  of  us  to- 
gether a  couple  of  weeks  before  the  time 
fixed  for  opening  the  school  to  plan  for 
the  work.  He  had  had  some  experience 
in  a  mission  school  in  Chicago.  "  The 
most  difficult  pupils  to  manage  in  this 
school,"  he  said,  "  will  be  the  boys  from 
ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age." 

Mrs.  Paxton  spoke  up  at  once.  "  I  shall 
be  delighted  to  take  a  class  of  such  boys. 
They  have  never  felt  the  beneficent  power 
of  kindness  and  love.  My  heart  goes  out 
toward  them,  and  I  am  confident  that  I  can 
do  them  good." 

"  I  had  a  class  of  that  kind  in  Pittsburg 
once,"  Mrs.  Sharp  replied,  "  and  you 
24 


ttlrs.  parton  and  tbe  dlieeion  5un$ag»0cbool 

couldn't  hire  me  to  try  such  a  job  again. 
The  only  way  to  manage  such  little  rascals 
is  to  have  two  teachers  for  every  boy,  one 
to  hold  him  and  another  to  teach  him." 

"  My  dear,  I  fear  you  did  not  try  the 
all-prevailing  power  of  love  upon  them," 
said  Mrs.  Paxton,  while  her  habitual  smile 
lighted  up  with  the  joy  of  anticipated 
conquests. 

"  Love's  all  right  and  I  believe  in  it," 
Mrs.  Sharp  replied,  "  but  I  don't  believe  in 
casting  pearls  before  swine." 

"  But  I  know  what  power  love  has,"  re- 
plied Mrs.  Paxton ;  "  you  ought  to  see  how 
my  dear  boys  at  the  jail  are  touched  by  my 
visits  to  them,  and  how  deeply  they  are 
moved  when  I  talk  with  them  about  the 
innocency  of  their  childhood  days  and  their 
mothers'  love." 

I  had  met  the  sheriff,  a  friend  of  mine, 
the  day  before  and  he  had  said :  "  Mr.  Brad- 
ley, can't  you  give  that  Mrs.  Paxton  work 
enough  to  do  so  she  will  stay  away  from 
the  jail?  The  boys  are  saying  that  they 
must  have  a  change  of  venue  or  some  other 
change  that  will  protect  them  from  her 
smiles  and  sweetness.  They  insist  that  they 
were  never  sentenced  to  the  kind  of  punish- 
ment which  she  is  inflicting  upon  them." 
25 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

But  the  mission  Sunday-school  was 
opened  in  due  time.  It  so  happened  that 
my  class  was  next  to  that  of  Mrs.  Paxton, 
and  I  could  not  help  noting  some  of  the 
things  which  happened  in  that  quarter. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said  to  a  frowzy-headed, 
dirty,  ragged  urchin,  and  was  about  to  ask 
his  name,  when  another  boy  shouted :  "  He 
ain't  a  deer;  he's  a  Dago."  She  smiled  her 
most  subduing  smile  and  laid  her  hand  lov- 
ingly on  the  red  head  of  the  interrupter: 
"  It  is  not  nice  to  use  such  names.  The 
Bible  says,  '  Little  children,  love  one 
another."  At  this  juncture  another  boy, 
noticing  her  hand,  exclaimed :  "  Teacher, 
teacher,  look  out  there;  you'll  burn  your 
hand."  In  the  roar  that  followed  some- 
body managed  to  stick  a  pin  into  the  red- 
headed boy  and  he  jumped  so  that  he  almost 
upset  Mrs.  Paxton's  chair.  The  class  then, 
as  by  some  sort  of  magic,  became  very 
quiet  and  respectful,  and  Mrs.  Paxton  pro- 
ceeded to  enroll  their  names.  But  such 
names!  As  I  remember  them  now,  there 
were  Jesse  James,  John  Sullivan,  Pete 
Dailey,  Buffalo  Bill,  and  several  others. 
This  was  organization  day,  and  no  attempt 
was  made  to  teach  the  lesson.  When  the 
roll  was  called  at  the  close,  the  names  in 
26 


.  ipaiton  and  tbe  mission  SunDa^scbool 

Mrs.  Paxton's  class  created  a  sensation,  and 
every  boy  in  the  class  responded  to  each 
name,  and  Airs  Paxton  looked  on  helpless, 
but  still  smiling. 

On  the  next  Sunday  the  school  assembled 
in  the  midst  of  great  confusion,  but  at 
length  order  was  secured  and  the  superin- 
tendent said  a  few  words  on  the  importance 
of  singing  and  expressed  a  hope  that  all 
would  sing. 

Mrs.  Paxton  said  to  her  class,  as  she 
gave  them  books  and  assisted  them  in  find- 
ing the  place :  "  Now,  my  dear  boys,  there 
is  nothing  so  sweet  and  inspiring  and  help- 
ful as  music,  and  I  hope  every  one  of  you 
will  take  part  in  this  beautiful  service." 
The  boys  were  quiet  and  seemingly  much 
interested,  and  she  smiled  with  peculiar 
satisfaction,  evidently  thinking  that  love 
was  telling,  and  that  Mrs.  Sharp  would 
soon  see  what  a  woman  imbued  with  the 
right  spirit  could  do.  "  Now,  all  ready ; 
sing,"  said  Brother  Joy;  and  they  sang, 
everybody  sang,  every  boy  in  Mrs.  Paxton's 
class  sang,  utterly  regardless  of  time  or 
tune,  seeming  to  think  that  the  important 
thing  was  noise.  It  was  something  ex- 
traordinary. Instead  of  an  organ,  a  calliope 
was  needed  to  lead  such  singing,  and  noth- 
27 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

ing  short  of  a  megaphone  would  have  made 
Brother  Joy's  voice  heard.  At  the  end  of 
the  second  verse  the  superintendent  tried  to 
stop  the  cyclone  of  song.  The  organ 
stopped  and  the  leader  stopped,  but  the 
tumult  went  on  to  the  end  of  the  hymn. 

The  smile  on  Mrs.  Paxton's  face  for  the 
first  time  in  years  almost  disappeared,  and 
there  were  traces  of  a  troubled  and  alarmed 
look. 

The  superintendent  did  not  think  best  to 
attempt  a  second  song  that  day. 

The  next  thing  on  the  programme  was 
the  collection.  Mrs.  Paxton  rallied  at  once 
from  the  shock  of  the  singing,  and  ex- 
plained :  "  Now  we  are  going  to  give  some- 
thing for  the  dear  Lord's  work.  He  said, 
'  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.' 
We  ought  to  give  from  love  and  gratitude 
to  him  for  all  the  good  things  he  has  given 
to  us." 

"  He  ain't  never  give  me  no  good  things," 
exclaimed  one  of  the  boys.  But  the  collec- 
tion went  on  and  the  result  was  indeed  a 
"  collection."  I  saw  a  poker  chip  (at  least 
I  supposed  it  was  that),  a  nail,  a  beer  check, 
a  piece  of  tobacco,  and  several  buttons.  The 
only  money  in  it  all  was  a  punched  nickel. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  relate  all  that  hap- 
28 


ffllra.  parton  an&  tbe  ftliggton  SunOag*scbool 

pened  that  day,  but  at  the  close  I  heard  Mrs. 
Paxton  asking  her  boys  each  to  find  a 
passage  of  Scripture  which  had  the  word 
love  in  it  and  be  prepared  to  recite  it  the 
following  Sunday. 

The  next  Sunday,  after  the  singing, 
which  was  slightly  improved,  Mrs.  Paxton 
began  talking  to  her  class  about  the  Bible. 
She  held  up  a  Bible  and  asked :  "  How  many 
of  my  dear  boys  can  tell  me  what  book  this 
is?"  One  exclaimed:  "A  prayer-book"; 
another,  "  Catechism  " ;  another,  "  A  cook- 
book." "  Oh,  no ;  you  are  all  mistaken ;  it 
is  the  Bible ;  all  say  '  Bible,' "  and  they  all 
said  "  Bible  "  in  a  way  that  caused  a  mo- 
mentary suspension  of  all  other  operations 
in  the  school.  She  then  said :  "  There  are 
two  divisions  to  the  Bible ;  who  can  tell  me 
what  they  are?  "  "  Long  division  and  short 
division,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  No,  no," 
and  the  smile  was  beginning  to  fade  from 
her  face.  "  I  mean  two  parts ;  who  can  tell 
me  what  they  are  ?  "  "  Forepart  and  back- 
part."  "  My  dears,  you  ought  to  stop  to 
think  before  you  speak  so  disrespectfully 
about  God's  book,"  and  her  smile  was 
almost  gone. 

Mr.  Paxton  was  present,  and  while  not 
seeming  to  listen,  I  could  see  that  he  was 
29 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbertgville 

greatly  interested  for  some  reason  in  his 
wife's  work.  "  Now,"  she  continued,  "  there 
are  two  parts  to  the  Bible;  one  is  called 
the  Old  Testament ;  what  is  the  other  ?  " 
At  once  the  red-headed  boy  shouted: 
"  Young  Testament."  I  do  not  know  what 
she  would  have  done  next,  but  just  then 
one  of  the  boys  exclaimed :  "  Teacher,  I  got 
a  verse  about  love !  "  Her  smile  returned. 
"  How  many  of  you  remembered  my  re- 
quest to  learn  a  verse  on  love  ?  "  Every 
hand  went  up,  and  several  of  the  boys  stood 
up  to  express  their  eagerness  to  recite  a 
passage  of  Scripture. 

Mrs.  Paxton's  face  beamed  with  expect- 
ancy. I  do  not  know  how  those  boys  ever 
found  those  passages  of  Scripture,  but  they 
must  have  had  help.  Here  are  some  of 
them  as  I  recall  them: 

The  first  boy  stood  up  and  in  a  voice  to 
be  heard  all  over  the  room  said :  "  Let  us 
take  our  fill  of  love."  The  next  one,  look- 
ing directly  at  Mr.  Paxton,  exclaimed: 
"  Husbands,  love  your  wives."  The  next, 
a  poor,  hungry-looking  urchin,  recited  in  a 
high-pitched  voice :  "  Make  me  savory  meat, 
such  as  I  love."  Another :  "  With  their 
mouth  they  showed  much  love  " ;  and  the 
next :  '"  Every  one  loveth  gifts." 
30 


(lire,  parton  an&  tbe  mission  SunOaE«8cbool 

There  was  consternation  depicted  on  the 
face  of  Mrs.  Paxton,  as  it  came  the  red- 
headed boy's  turn.  I  glanced  at  Mr.  Pax- 
ton.  He  was  looking  out  of  the  window, 
but  a  broad  smile  covered  his  features. 
The  boy  spoke  with  a  voice  that  held  the 
attention  of  every  one  in  the  room :  "  Stay 
me  with  flagons,  comfort  me  with  apples ; 
for  I  am  sick  of  love."  When  he  sat  down 
Mrs.  Paxton  was  deathly  pale  and  at  once 
arose  and  went  to  her  husband  and  said  she 
was  ill  and  must  go  home. 

She  never  returned  to  the  school.  She 
said  her  health  would  not  permit  the  extra 
work.  Her  husband  was  very  anxious  to 
have  her  continue  and  expressed  a  great 
interest  in  the  neglected  boys  of  "  Squatters' 
Ranch." 

Mrs.  Sharp  said :  "  I  don't  think  he  cares 
so  much  for  what  his  wife  can  do  for  the 
boys  as  for  what  the  boys  can  do  for  her." 
But  she  never  came  back,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  she  was  in  her  place  in  the 
church  with  her  old  smile  fully  restored. 

After  she  gave  up  the  boys  in  the  mission 
school  a  young  fellow,  James  Rush — the 
boys  called  him  "  Jim " — took  the  class. 
He  was  just  home  from  college,  where  he 
had  been  right-tackle  on  the  football  team, 


Sbe  Gburcb  at 

and  was  an  all-around  athlete  and  fine  fel- 
low. The  first  Sunday  that  he  taught  the 
class  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  boys  all 
gathered  close  around  him  and  evidently 
filled  with  interest.  I  listened  and  heard 
him  telling  them  all  about  the  great  foot- 
ball game  in  which  he  had  taken  part  a 
short  time  before.  I  wondered  how  he 
could  get  any  religious  lessons  out  of  foot- 
ball, but  before  he  was  through  he  was  tell- 
ing them  of  the  training  he  had  to  go 
through  and  how  a  fellow  could  not  amount 
to  anything  anywhere  without  training. 

The  next  Sunday  they  were  all  comparing 
jack-knives,  and  before  they  had  done  they 
were  "  cutting  knives,"  and  then  I  heard 
Brother  Rush  explaining  to  the  boys  that 
the  best  knife  was  the  one  that  had  the  best 
stuff  in  it,  and  that  boys  must  have  good 
stuff  in  their  characters  if  they  were  going 
to  do  anything  worth  while  and  stand  up 
against  the  world. 

I  went  to  the  Sunday-school  some  time 
ago,  when  I  was  back  on  a  visit,  and  it  is 
wonderful  what  has  been  accomplished. 
Brother  James  Rush  is  superintendent  now, 
and  he  has  a  young  men's  club  in  connec- 
tion with  the  school  that  is  doing  a  splendid 
work.  As  I  listened  to  the  well-drilled 
32 


Pastor's  Vacation 

chorus  under  the  direction  of  a  red-headed 
young  man,  and  heard  the  inspiring  sing- 
ing, I  remembered  the  scene  ten  years  be- 
fore, and  said :  "  Love  has  conquered — love 
and  common  sense." 


IV 

Cbe  pastor's  Vacation 

Some  are  thoughtful,  loving  and  kind, 
Unselfish,  warm-hearted  and  true ; 

While  some  are  harsh  and  stern  of  mind, 
And  unsympathetic,  whatever  they  do. 

OFTEN  think  of  Rev.  Joshua 
Green's  first  vacation.  He  worked 
very  hard  and  had  been  with  us 
four  years  without  any  rest.  He  often  said 
that  he  could  find  no  time  for  a  vacation. 
He  was  sincere  in  this  and  really  believed  it. 
But  his  work  began  to  wear  on  him,  and  it 
became  evident  that  his  health  was  failing. 
He,  however,  made  no  complaints  and,  if 
possible,  worked  harder  than  ever. 

At  the  woman's  meetings  Mrs.  Dolittle 

remarked :  "  I  am  sure  Brother  Green  is 

not  well.    I  am  afraid  he  is  going  into  an 

early  decline.     If  he  would  only  give  up 

c  33 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  OLtbcrtfivlllc 

Doctor  Slocum  and  employ  Doctor  Postwell 
he  would  soon  be  all  right." 

"  Doctor  Postwell,  indeed,"  said  Mrs. 
Sharp.  "  If  I  wanted  to  die  I  would  send 
for  him.  He  made  short  work  of  old 
Squire  Hobbs.  He  isn't  fit  to  doctor  a 

Before  Mrs.  Sharp  could  tell  what  he 
was  not  fit  to  doctor,  Mrs.  Paxton,  think- 
ing she  saw  trouble  coming,  interrupted 
her  and  smiling  sweetly  said :  "  My  dears, 
we  must  remember  that  Doctor  Slocum  is 
an  official  member  of  our  church,  and  it 
might  cause  hard  feelings  if  our  pastor 
should  employ  some  other  physician." 

"  Yes,"  added  Mrs.  Perkins,  "  I  suppose 
he  must  take  church  medicine  if  it  kills 
him.  I  for  one  don't  believe  in  being  as 
sectarian  as  all  that." 

"  But,"  said  Mrs.  Paxton,  "  we  must  be 
willing  to  sacrifice  our  personal  feelings  for 
the  good  of  the  cause." 

"  I  suppose,"  added  Mrs.  Dolittle,  "  that 
is  the  way  you  felt  when  you  had  Doctor 
Slocum  treat  your  first  husband."  I  have 
often  noticed  that  when  people  get  dis- 
cussing the  relative  merits  of  their  family 
physicians  they  are  quite  liable  to  lose  their 
tempers.  It  was  fortunate,  therefore,  that 
just  at  this  stage  of  the  conversation  the 
34 


Cbc  pastor'0  Vacation 

pastor  came  in  and  the  discussion  stopped. 
But  my  wife  said  that  several  remarked  to 
her  that  the  pastor  did  certainly  look  ill. 

At  the  next  deacons'  meeting  I  brought 
the  matter  up  and  Charley  Goodwill  said: 
"  It  is  very  evident  that  the  pastor  is  not 
well,  and  that  something  ought  to  be  done 
about  it." 

Deacon  Smith,  who  was  also  head  usher, 
said :  "  I  have  noticed  quite  a  marked  fall- 
ing off  in  the  congregations  lately.  The 
pastor's  preaching  is  not  so  interesting  as 
it  used  to  be.  He  takes  an  awful  gloomy 
view  of  things.  There  is  Mr.  Hope,  who 
used  to  come  regularly  to  church,  and  he 
gave  liberally  too,  has  not  been  near  for 
three  months.  I  told  him  the  other  day  that 
we  missed  him  and  invited  him  to  come 
again  and  he  replied :  '  I  like  a  good  funeral 
sermon  once  in  a  while,  but  I  can't  stand 
one  every  Sunday.' " 

I  noticed  Deacon  Stearns  was  getting 
restless  while  Brother  Smith  was  speaking; 
he  now  interrupted  him.  "  I  regard  that  as 
an  insult  to  our  pastor,  and  am  surprised 
that  any  one  would  repeat  such  a  state- 
ment. I  for  one  want  to  say  that  I  never 
heard  Brother  Green  preach  so  well  before 
as  he  has  done  of  late.  His  sermons  are 

35 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

powerful  and  searching.  He  is  hewing  to 
the  line.  He  is  just  coming  to  see  the  sins 
of  the  people  and  the  degeneracy  of  the 
times.  The  fact  that  the  congregations  are 
falling  off  is  a  hopeful  indication.  The 
apostle  says :  '  The  time  will  come  when 
they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine.'  In 
my  humble  judgment  that  time  has  arrived 
in  Libertyville  and  Brother  Green  has  come 
to  the  kingdom  for  a  time  like  this." 

"  Well,"  replied  Deacon  Smith,  "  I  don't 
believe  the  gospel  was  designed  to  drive 
people  away.  Jesus  said:  '  If  I  be  lifted 
up,  I  will  draw  all  men  unto  me,'  and  I 
don't  see  how  the  world  is  going  to  be 
converted  by  preaching  to  empty  pews  and 
to  a  few  old,  hard-headed  saints,  who  never 
take  anything  to  themselves  anyhow." 

Deacon  Stearns  evidently  thought  this 
was  designed  as  a  reflection  upon  himself, 
and  was  about  to  reply  when  Brother  Good- 
will spoke :  "  It  is  not  a  question,  brethren, 
of  sound  doctrine  or  empty  pews,  but  it  is 
a  question  of  Brother  Green's  health.  Doc- 
tor Slocum  tells  me  that  the  pastor  is  in  a 
very  critical  condition  nervously,  and  is  in 
danger  of  complete  collapse  unless  he  has 
a  good  rest  with  a  thorough  change.  I  am 
heartily  in  favor  of  his  having  a  vacation, 
36 


Cbc  pastot'0  Vacation 

and  I  am  thinking  some  of  going  along 
with  him  to  see  that  he  rests  and  has  a  good 
time." 

Charley  Goodwill  was  a  general  favorite 
and  was  always  doing  generous  and  helpful 
things.  He  had  a  large  class  of  young 
people  in  the  Sunday-school  and  was  popu- 
lar among  them.  His  genial  face,  cheerful 
voice,  and  warm  handshake  were  full  of 
inspiration  to  courage  and  hopefulness.  His 
name  told  just  what  he  was. 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  say  in  passing  that 
Deacon  Stearns  thought  he  made  too  much 
of  the  social  element  in  his  class-work,  and 
also  thought  he  lacked  dignity.  In  fact, 
he  felt  called  upon  at  one  time  to  labor  with 
him  in  reference  to  this.  It  crept  out  in 
some  way,  some  time  afterward,  that 
Brother  Goodwill  said  to  him :  "  I  would 
rather  have  no  dignity  at  all  than  to  have 
the  dignity  of  an  icicle,  and  I  would  rather 
speak  without  thinking  than  to  speak  after 
the  kind  of  thinking  which  some  people  do." 

The  deacon  told  Mrs.  Stearns  that  his 
interview  was  unsatisfactory,  and  she  did 
not  express  any  regret.  He  observed  this 
and  said :  "  If  Charley  Goodwill  did  not 
have  so  many  sympathizers  it  would  be 
much  better  for  him  and  also  for  the  church. 
37 


Gbe  Cbutcb  at  XtbertgvUle 

But  I  have  done  my  duty  by  him  whether 
it  does  any  good  or  not." 

Doctor  Spear  was  greatly  troubled  about 
his  teaching  and  was  afraid  he  was  not  en- 
tirely sound  and  was  sure  that  many  of 
his  Scripture  interpretations  did  not  agree 
with  Matthew  Henry,  and  he  also  felt  that 
he  did  not  get  hold  of  the  deep  spiritual 
teachings  of  the  word. 

When  some  one  told  Brother  Goodwill 
about  this  he  said :  "  I  would  rather  not  be 
sound  than  to  be  all  sound." 

But  I  am  not  a  judge  of  these  matters. 
I  do  know,  however,  that  he  made  his 
teaching  practical,  and  that  he  greatly  in- 
terested and  helped  the  young  people.  It 
is  possible  that  if  he  had  gotten  hold  of  the 
deeper  things  and  had  stuck  close  to  Mat- 
thew Henry,  his  class  would  have  been  as 
small  and  his  teaching  as  dry  as  that  of 
Doctor  Spear.  But  I  must  come  back  to 
the  deacons'  meeting  and  to  the  pastor's 
vacation. 

No  sooner  had  Charley  Goodwill  spoken 
of  a  vacation  than  Doctor  Spear  was 
aroused.  "  I  preached  for  ten  years,"  said 
he,  "  and  never  thought  of  such  a  thing  as 
a  vacation.  I  gave  myself  to  my  work  and 
the  Lord  gave  me  strength  to  do  it.  The 
38 


Cbe  pastor's  Vacation 

devil  never  takes  any  vacation.  In  my 
judgment  this  modern  vacation  fad  is  de- 
stroying the  church.  The  trouble  with 
preachers  to-day  is  they  are  too  lazy  and 
spend  too  much  time  studying  higher  criti- 
cism. If  they  would  be  content  to  preach 
the  old  gospel  and  get  out  and  do  more 
visiting  the  Lord  would  take  care  of  them. 
I  know  from  experience.  I  know  as  you 
cannot,  and  you  can't  change  my  opinion." 

"  But,  Doctor  Spear,  I  have  always  sup- 
posed," said  Deacon  Smith,  "  that  you  left 
the  ministry  because  your  health  broke 
down ;  perhaps  if  you  had  taken  a  vacation 
you  might  still  be  preaching  the  gospel." 

"  No,  no,  you  misunderstand,"  the  doctor 
said ;  "  my  voice  failed,  and  that  is  quite 
a  different  thing." 

I  think  I  have  already  stated  that  it  was 
currently  reported  that  his  voice  failed  at 
the  same  time  that  he  married  a  rich  widow, 
but  no  allusion  was  made  to  this.  Deacon 
Perkins,  however,  did  add :  "  But  it  seems, 
doctor,  that  rest  enabled  you  to  entirely  re- 
cover your  voice."  The  doctor  was  not 
pleased  at  the  turn  matters  had  taken  and 
replied  with  some  feeling :  "  I  insist  that 
my  private  matters  be  not  discussed.  I 
am  opposed  to  Brother  Green's  taking  a 
39 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbertfivllle 

vacation,  but  if  you  all  insist  upon  it  I  shall 
not  make  any  trouble." 

After  further  debate  it  was  voted  to  rec- 
ommend that  our  pastor  have  a  month's 
vacation  on  full  salary.  Deacon  Stearns 
voted  against  it,  and  Doctor  Spear  did  not 
vote  at  all.  All  the  others  voted  heartily 
for  it. 

When  Brother  Goodwill  called  and  told 
the  pastor  what  was  proposed  he  said :  "  I 
do  not  think  I  ought  to  go  away.  I  fear 
I  would  be  unfaithful  to  dying  souls  and 
then,  as  Doctor  Spear  often  says,  '  The 
devil  never  takes  a  vacation.'  " 

"  But,  pastor,"  interrupted  Brother  Good- 
will, "  you  certainly  do  not  take  the  devil 
as  your  example.  When  the  Master  was 
here  he  said  to  his  apostles  at  one  time, 
'  Come  ye  yourselves  apart  into  a  desert 
place  and  rest  awhile/  and  what  you  need 
is  to  get  apart  into  some  desert  place  where 
the  fishing  and  boating  are  good  and  rest 
awhile." 

"  But,"  said  the  pastor,  "  I  cannot  leave 
my  wife  and  the  children ;  I  am  needed  here 
to  help  look  after  things." 

Mrs.  Green,  a  good,  sensible,  devoted 
wife,  appreciating  the  situation  and  long- 
ing for  some  of  the  sunshine  of  former  days 
40 


Cbe  pastor's  IDacatton 

in  the  home,  at  once  spoke :  "  Oh,  we  shall 
miss  you  greatly,  but  we  can  get  along  all 
right  and  will  appreciate  you  all  the  better 
when  you  come  back;  and  then  if  you  do 
not  go  and  should  break  down,  as  the  doctor 
fears  you  will,  I  do  not  know  what  we 
would  do." 

Finally  the  pastor  told  Brother  Goodwill 
that  he  would  think  about  it.  That  even- 
ing the  trustees  had  a  meeting  and  made  up 
a  liberal  purse  to  pay  the  pastor's  vacation 
expenses. 

When  the  recommendation  of  the  dea- 
cons was  laid  before  the  church  for  action 
I  shall  never  forget  the  remarks  made  by 
Elder  Heartwell.  Elder  Heartwell  was  an 
aged  minister,  who  had  been  a  faithful 
pastor  for  nearly  fifty  years  and  having 
been  compelled  to  give  up  work  on  account 
of  failing  strength,  was  making  his  home 
with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Sweet.  Everybody 
loved  the  elder,  and  his  presence  was  a 
blessing  to  the  church.  His  prayer-meeting 
talks  were  wonderfully  helpful.  He  had 
grown  old  with  a  charity,  a  sweetness,  and 
a  hopefulness  beautiful  to  see. 

After  several  had  spoken  in  favor  of  the 
vacation,  Deacon  Stearns  arose  and  said: 
"  If  Brother  Green  needs  a  vacation  on 


Cburcb  at  ILibert^vtlle 

account  of  his  health,  I  suppose  he  ought 
to  have  it,  but  I  want  to  bear  testimony 
that  I  never  heard  him  or  any  one  else 
preach  more  of  the  real  old  heart-searching, 
bone-and-marrow  dividing  and  law-magni- 
fying truth  than  he  has  of  late.  It  has 
been  like  manna  to  my  soul,  and  if  giving 
him  a  vacation  is  going  to  change  his 
preaching,  I  am  opposed  to  his  going,  and 
I  believe  that  if  he  will  stand  to  his  post 
and  continue  this  kind  of  preaching  the 
Lord  will  take  care  of  his  health." 

I  saw  Doctor  Spear  start  to  get  up  and 
then  take  his  seat  again.  I  suspect  he  was 
afraid  the  question  of  his  losing  his  voice 
and  quitting  the  ministry  might  be  brought 
up  again. 

Then  Elder  Heartwell  slowly  rose.  It 
was  evident  by  the  saddened  expression  of 
his  benevolent  face  that  his  mind  was 
troubled.  "  My  thoughts  go  back  to-night," 
he  said,  "  to  a  very  painful  experience  of 
many  years  ago.  Though  it  was  so  long 
ago  I  cannot  recall  it  without  great  sad- 
ness, and  I  seldom  ever  speak  of  it.  I 
was  a  young  minister  then  in  my  first  pas- 
torate. I  had  worked  very  hard  in  college 
and  seminary,  having  been  compelled  to 
pay  my  own  way.  I  entered  upon  my 
42 


Cbc  pastor's  Vacation 

pastorate  weakened  in  body  and  given 
somewhat  to  looking  upon  the  darker  side 
of  things.  I  worked  on  for  three  years  with 
fair  success,  but  took  no  rest.  Then  I  be- 
gan to  be  overwhelmed  with  the  awfulness 
of  the  sins  around  me,  and  irritated  by 
what  I  thought  the  coldness  and  worldliness 
of  the  church.  I  preached  a  hard  and  for- 
bidding religion  and  took  a  grim  pleasure 
in  doing  so.  Some  of  the  brethren  spoke 
to  me  about  it,  but  I  resented  it,  and  thought 
them  cowardly  and  hypocritical.  My  wife 
talked  kindly  with  me  and  tried  to  help  me, 
but  I  thought  she  was  becoming  time- 
serving and  was  afraid  my  salary  would 
not  be  paid.  Matters  went  from  bad  to 
worse.  The  congregations  dwindled  to  a 
mere  handful,  and  I  charged  the  trouble  to 
the  church.  I  was  nervous,  irritable,  and 
headstrong. 

"  Finally  the  deacons  in  what  seemed  to 
me  then  a  heartless  way  waited  on  me  and 
told  me  that  they  thought  my  usefulness  in 
that  field  was  done  and  requested  me  to 
resign.  I  told  them  that  the  Lord  had  called 
me  there  and  that  I  would  never  be  driven 
away  by  a  pack  of  cowardly,  sneaking  dea- 
cons, who  thought  a  good  deal  more  of 
serving  themselves  than  they  did  the  Lord. 
43 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbertsville 

Oh,  how  vividly  I  recall  it!  I  worked  on 
a  few  weeks  and  then  they  declared  the 
pulpit  vacant  and  shut  me  out.  I  had  lost 
all  faith  in  men  and  now  I  lost  faith  in 
God,  and  railed  against  him  and  vowed 
that  I  would  never  be  guilty  of  preaching 
again.  My  wife  and  little  boy  went  home 
to  her  folks  and  I  tried  to  find  work.  It 
makes  me  shudder  to  think  of  those  days. 
Then  I  fell  sick  and  lay  in  the  hospital  for 
weeks.  My  wife  came  and  cared  for  me 
with  great  tenderness  till  I  was  able  to 
go  home  with  her  to  the  dear  old  farm  on 
the  shore  of  a  beautiful  lake.  Then  came 
weeks  of  rest,  sweet,  calm,  soothing  rest, 
through  those  long,  beautiful  June  days.  I 
got  where  I  could  row  on  the  lake  and 
wander  through  the  woods,  wife  was  fre- 
quently with  me,  and  somehow  life  began 
to  take  on  a  new  meaning. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  that  day  when  wife 
had  been  sitting  near  me  in  a  beautiful 
spot  in  the  orchard  and  talking  to  me  of 
her  own  rest,  faith,  and  hope,  until  at  last 
I  completely  melted  and  bowed  in  prayer. 
I  had  not  prayed  before  for  months.  The 
whole  hated  past  came  before  me  and  I 
saw  what  a  miserable  sinner  I  had  been 
and  pleaded  for  forgiveness.  Then  there 
44 


pastor's  Vacation 

came  almost  like  a  voice  from  heaven,  and 
as  sweet  music  to  my  heart  the  words, '  Like 
as  a  father.'  A  blessed  calm  filled  my  soul 
as  I  repeated,  '  Like  as  a  father.'  The  birds 
sang  in  the  trees  above  me  and  all  nature 
seemed  full  of  a  rich  refrain — '  Like  as  a 
father.'  I  saw  the  gospel  as  I  had  never 
seen  it  before,  and  there  with  my  wife 
weeping  for  joy,  I  rededicated  my  life  to  a 
larger,  richer  ministry  than  I  had  ever 
known  before." 

When  the  elder  sat  down  there  was  a 
stillness  in  the  room  that  was  almost  op- 
pressive and  many  eyes  were  filled  with 
tears.  The  moderator  spoke  in  a  subdued 
voice :  "  All  who  are  in  favor  of  granting 
a  vacation  to  our  pastor  will  raise  the  right 
hand."  Every  one  raised  the  hand,  Doctor 
Spear  and  Deacon  Stearns  voting  with  the 
others. 

So  the  pastor  had  his  vacation,  with 
Charley  Goodwill,  hunting,  rowing,  swim- 
ming, fishing  in  northern  Wisconsin. 

His  first  text  on  his  return  was,  "  Who 
giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy."  It 
was  a  sermon  full  of  gladness,  thankfulness, 
and  inspiration.  Mrs.  Green  bowed  her 
head  and  quietly  wept  tears  of  joy,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  service  Deacon  Stearns  was 
45 


£be  Cburcb  at  libertsvtiie 

one  of  the  first  to  grasp  his  hand  and 
exclaim :  "  Pastor,  your  vacation  has  done 
you  good." 


Gbteflg  Concerning  mirs.  Dolittle 

Whatever  they  do,  wherever  they  are, 
Some  are  always  on  the  alert, 

To  find  some  personal  harm  or  slight, 
And  their  feelings  are  sure  to  be  hurt. 

|RS.  JEREMIAH  DOLITTLE 
was  a  member  of  the  church,  al- 
though it  must  be  confessed  that 
her  membership  never  brought  much  satis- 
faction either  to  herself  or  to  the  church. 
Her  husband,  who  was  also  a  member,  had 
never,  in  her  estimation,  received  proper 
recognition.  She  remained  away  from  the 
church  six  months  at  one  time  because  her 
husband  was  defeated  by  a  rival  candidate 
for  deacon. 

Mr.  Dolittle  was  a  mild,  subdued,  inof- 
fensive man,  who  seemed  to  have  but  one 
all-absorbing  ambition,  and  that  was  to 
agree  in  everything  with  his  wife. 

Deacon   Perkins   once   said  to   me :   "I 
46 


Concerning  flflrs.  Dolittle 

have  no  kind  of  patience  with  such  a 
dummy  for  a  man,"  but  I  replied :  "  Brother 
Perkins,  you  must  remember  that  Brother 
Dolittle  has  a  harder  lot  than  some  others." 

Mrs.  Dolittle  was  frequently  annoyed 
with  her  husband  for  not  standing  up  more 
for  what  she  thought  were  his  rights.  She 
would  say  to  him :  "  Jeremiah  Dolittle,  if 
you  had  the  spunk  of  a  mouse  you  wouldn't 
let  folks  run  over  you  as  you  do."  And  he 
would  meekly  reply :  "  Yes,  my  dear ;  I 
know  you  are  right,  and  I  will  try  to  do 
better." 

One  day  in  the  public  school,  where  little 
Dorothy  Dolittle,  their  youngest  child,  was 
attending,  the  teacher  was  explaining  to  the 
children  the  different  orders  of  animals,  and 
in  describing  the  highest  class,  said :  "  Ver- 
tebrates have  backbones,"  and  then  added 
by  way  of  illustration :  "  Men  are  verte- 
brates." 

Little  Dorothy's  hand  went  up.  "  What 
is  it,  my  dear?"  asked  the  teacher. 

"  My  ma  says  my  pa  hasn't  got  any 
backbone,"  was  the  very  unexpected  reply. 

The  people  generally  agreed  with  this 
verdict  of  Mrs.  Dolittle  respecting  her 
husband,  but  many  were  disposed  to  blame 
her  for  his  unfortunate  deficiency.  Her 

47 


Cburcb  at  Xtbettsville 

feelings  were  often  seriously  hurt  because 
of  the  treatment  which  her  children  re- 
ceived. She  thought  no  one  understood  or 
appreciated  them.  I  have  noticed  that  to  be 
quite  common  with  spoiled  children. 

In  speaking  to  Mrs.  Smith  of  her  boy, 
Tom,  she  said :  "  Thomas  is  an  exceptionally 
bright  and  well-behaved  boy.  I  am  really 
very  proud  of  him,  and  greatly  regret  that 
he  cannot  have  better  advantages  and  as- 
sociates than  can  be  found  in  Libertyville. 
I  often  am  sorry  that  we  ever  came  to  this 
wretched  place  to  live." 

Mrs.  Smith,  whose  boy  was  in  the  same 
class  in  school  with  Tom,  replied :  "  I  un- 
derstand he  failed  in  his  last  examination 
and  cannot  go  into  the  next  grade." 

"Failed!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Dolittle. 
"  That  was  due  entirely  to  an  incompetent 
and  prejudiced  teacher,  and  the  conduct  of 
some  children  who  get  no  training  at  home." 
This  she  said  with  a  significant  look  at  Mrs. 
Smith.  "  But,"  she  went  on,  "  I  have  seen 
the  teacher  and  told  her  some  things  she 
will  remember,  and  have  laid  the  case  before 
the  Board  of  Education,  and  have  given 
them  to  understand  that  there  will  be  seri- 
ous trouble  if  this  matter  is  not  fixed  up, 
and  they  have  promised  to  see  what  can  be 
48 


Cbtefls  Concerning  fllrs.  Doltttle 

done  about  it."  I  never  heard  how  it  came 
out. 

Deacon  Stearns  said  to  me  one  day :  "  I 
am  confident  that  little  reprobate,  Tom  Do- 
little,  is  headed  straight  for  the  peniten- 
tiary," and  the  tone  in  which  he  said  it,  and 
the  look  on  his  face,  indicated  that  he 
wished  he  was  already  there.  The  trouble 
was  he  had  caught  the  boy  in  his  orchard, 
helping  himself  to  apples.  It  ought  to  be 
said  here,  in  passing,  that  there  was  a  con- 
dition of  perpetual  warfare  between  Deacon 
Stearns  and  the  boys  of  the  community.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  the  deacon  was  not 
characterized  by  that  geniality  and  large- 
hearted  generosity  which  boys  like.  But 
I  referred  to  Tom  in  order  to  tell  of  a  little 
trouble  which  arose  in  the  Sunday-school. 

It  so  happened  that  he  was  in  Mrs. 
Sharp's  class.  One  day  Tom  was  restless, 
in  fact,  he  had  not  known  anything  about 
his  lesson  for  several  Sundays,  and  had 
caused  considerable  trouble,  so  Mrs.  Sharp 
told  my  wife.  Finally  Mrs.  Sharp  lost  her 
patience  and  said :  "  Tom  Dolittle,  stop  your 
whispering  this  instant,  and  behave  yourself. 
I've  had  trouble  enough  with  you.  If  you 
never  know  anything  about  the  lesson  your- 
self, you  are  not  going  to  be  allowed  to 
D  49 


Cburcb  at 

spoil  the  class  for  those  whose  parents  do 
teach  them  something."  Unfortunately, 
Mrs.  Sharp  did  not  speak  very  low,  and 
several  of  us  heard  what  she  said.  Mrs. 
Dolittle  was  one.  Immediately  she  arose 
and  crossed  over  to  Mrs.  Sharp's  class,  and 
not  deigning  to  notice  her,  she  said : 
"  Thomas,  come  with  me ;  this  is  no  place 
for  us,"  and  she  led  him  from  the  room, 
and  Mr.  Dolittle  arose  and  followed. 

The  next  Sunday  Mrs.  Dolittle  and  Tom 
were  at  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mrs. 
Sharp  declared  that  Mr.  Dolittle  was  sent 
back  to  the  Baptist  church  to  report  the 
effect  of  her  departure.  But  as  I  have  said 
before,  Mrs.  Sharp  was  not  always  char- 
itable in  her  judgments.  This  going  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  continued  about  six 
weeks,  as  I  remember  it,  and  then  some- 
thing happened  which  led  Mrs.  Dolittle  to 
have  ever  afterward  a  peculiar  hostility  to 
that  church. 

Mr.  Chase,  the  superintendent  of  that 
school,  told  me  that  Tom  Dolittle  was  placed 
in  a  class  of  boys  not  far  from  Elder 
Hardy's  Bible  class,  and  that  the  boy,  seem- 
ing to  think  he  was  a  hero,  with  a  bad 
reputation  to  maintain,  made  a  good  deal 
of  disturbance,  until  at  the  close  of  school 
50 


Cbieflv!  Concerning  fiilrs.  Belittle 

one  day  he  overheard  the  elder  say  to  Mrs. 
Dolittle :  "  Madam,  I  have  a  profound  con- 
viction that  your  son  is  a  foreordained  rep- 
robate ;  and  furthermore,  I  think  that  people 
who  cannot  get  along  with  their  own  church 
ought  not  to  run  around  and  make  trouble 
for  other  churches." 

"  Well,"  she  snapped,  "  I  believe  you  are 
a  foreordained  hypocrite,  and  we  will 
trouble  neither  you  nor  your  church  any 
more."  She  came  back  to  our  school  the 
next  Sunday  and  put  Tom  in  another  class. 

Anna,  her  eldest  daughter,  was  not  par- 
ticularly prepossessing,  and  like  her  father, 
was  somewhat  subdued  and  retiring.  At 
one  time  the  Misses  LaFord  gave  a  party 
and  did  not  invite  Miss  Dolittle.  Her 
mother's  feelings  were  deeply  hurt,  and  she 
at  once  sent  for  the  pastor  and  he  told  me 
that  she  wept  in  his  presence.  "  I  shall  never 
feel  like  entering  the  church  again,"  she 
declared.  "  To  think  of  all  I  have  done  for 
the  LaFords  and  then  to  be  publicly  in- 
sulted by  them,  just  because  they  have  a 
little  more  money  than  we  have  and  can 
give  a  little  more  to  the  church."  She  then 
gave  the  pastor  the  family  history  of  the 
LaFords  and  of  the  Dolittles,  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  latter. 
51 


Cburcb  at 

"  Oh,"  said  the  pastor,  "  I  am  sure  you 
are  mistaken,  and  that  no  slight  was  in- 
tended. It  was  simply  a  neighborhood  af- 
fair. I  know  that  Grace  Smith  and  Maud 
Perkins  were  not  invited."  But  his  attempt 
at  pacification  did  no  good.  "  I  see  you  are 
like  all  the  rest,"  she  said,  "  you  stand  up 
for  the  LaFords,  no  matter  how  mean  they 
have  been  to  me.  I  cut  no  figure  anyhow, 
and  might  as  well  be  out  of  the  church." 

I  would  like  to  say  right  here  that  my 
experience  and  observation  lead  me  to  be- 
lieve that  many  pastors,  especially  young 
pastors,  waste  a  great  deal  of  time  and  en- 
ergy and  have  a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary 
anxiety  and  trouble  trying  to  help  these 
over-sensitive  people.  I  recall  the  case  of 
young  Brother  Goodman,  over  at  Bragville. 
He  was  actually  driven  out  of  the  ministry 
by  two  families  of  this  character  in  his 
church.  He  went  to  work  to  fix  up  all  the 
grievances  of  fifteen  years.  He  simply  en- 
couraged them  in  their  meanness,  and  mag- 
nified and  aggravated  their  troubles,  till  the 
church  was  almost  broken  up  and  he  came 
to  Libertyville  and  went  into  life  insurance. 
There  are,  in  my  humble  judgment,  a  lot  of 
petty  differences  in  a  church  that  a  pastor 
should  pay  no  attention  to  whatever. 
52 


Cbicfls  Concerning  flits.  2>oltttle 

But  I  must  tell  of  Mrs.  Dolittle's  trouble 
in  the  choir.  She  thought  she  could  sing, 
but  her  friends  did  not  to  any  extent  share, 
this  opinion.  Rev.  James  Brown  boasted 
that  he  had  no  ear  for  "  operatic  music." 
Miss  Wagner,  who  had  studied  abroad,  de- 
clared :  "  I  don't  think  he  has  an  ear  for 
any  kind  of  music."  He  further  insisted 
that  he  had  no  use  for  "  quartet  choirs." 
So  when  he  became  our  pastor  he  at  once 
proposed  to  re-organize  the  music  and  have 
a  chorus  choir.  It  was  not  a  wise  move  on 
his  part.  He  was  entertained  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Dolittle  while  he  was  candidating. 
This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  if  the  com- 
mittee did  not  send  the  visiting  ministers 
to  her  home  she  thought  she  was  slighted, 
especially  if  they  were  persons  of  any  prom- 
inence. While  in  her  home  Brother  Brown 
became  greatly  impressed  with  Mrs.  Do- 
little's  musical  ability  and  said  to  me: 
"  Deacon  Bradley,  I  have  discovered  rare 
and  neglected  musical  gifts  in  Mrs.  Do- 
little.  I  shall  give  her  a  prominent  place  in 
my  new  choir." 

"  The  organizing  of  a  choir,"  I  replied, 

"  is  a  matter  of  great  importance,  and  as  it 

is  much  easier  to  get  people  in  than  it  is  to 

get  them  out,  I  counsel  you  to  proceed  with 

53 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

moderation."  I  did  not  feel  warranted  in 
speaking  any  more  definitely,  but  I  had 
forebodings  of  evil. 

The  choir  was  speedily  organized  with 
Mrs.  Dolittle  as  one  of  the  leading  sopranos. 
Had  she  been  the  leading  soprano  instead 
of  one  of  them,  the  singing  might  have 
suffered,  but  I  think  the  chances  for  trouble 
would  have  been  less. 

The  third  Sunday  Mrs.  Dolittle  was  ab- 
sent, and  her  husband,  who  seemed  anxious 
to  talk,  told  the  pastor  and  several  others 
that  she  was  not  ill,  but  that  she  had  her 
reasons  for  not  coming. 

Brother  Brown  hastened  to .  call  in  the 
afternoon;  she  met  him,  with  an  injured 
look,  and  explained :  "  It  might  as  well  be 
understood  from  the  start  that  I  will  never 
play  second  fiddle  to  Maria  Jenks.  Her 
voice  isn't  as  musical  as  a  cat's ;  she  doesn't 
know  a  flat  from  a  sharp,  and  last  night  at 
the  rehearsal  they  gave  her  the  solo  to  sing. 
I  know  enough  to  know  when  I  am  snubbed. 
I  was  the  main  one  in  getting  up  this  choir, 
and  I  am  going  to  be  properly  recognized 
in  it  or  I'll  just  quit." 

"  Of  course,  of  course,"  said  the  pastor, 
"  everybody  knows  that  Sister  Jenks'  voice 
does  not  compare  with  yours.  We  cannot 
54 


Concerning  flits.  Dolittle 

get  along  without  you,  and  I  will  see  that 
the  matter  is  made  right." 

Mrs.  Dolittle  was  soon  mollified,  but 
within  an  hour  after  the  pastor  had  gone 
Miss  Maria  Jenks  knew  what  the  pastor  had 
said  about  her  voice,  and  vowed  she  would 
never  darken  the  door  of  that  church  again 
while  he  was  pastor,  which  vow  she  sacredly 
kept.  But  this  was  simply  the  beginning 
of  trouble,  and  the  end  was  not  reached 
until  the  pastor  had  gone,  the  chorus  choir 
been  broken  up,  and  Mrs.  Dolittle  put  into 
such  a  state  of  mind  that  she  would  not 
speak  to  more  than  half  a  dozen  members 
of  the  church.  Charley  Goodwill  still  refers 
to  that  time  as  "  The  War  of  1890." 

Mrs.  Dolittle  had  trouble  in  the  woman's 
society,  and  so  she  did  her  missionary  work 
in  her  own  way  and  sent  her  contributions 
direct  to  headquarters.  She  joined  the  so- 
ciety when  it  was  first  organized,  but  was 
never  appreciated.  She  could  not  give  as 
much  as  some,  and  was  sure  that  was  the 
reason  she  was  never  elected  to  any  office, 
or  made  chairman  of  any  committee.  Her 
feelings  were  frequently  hurt,  until  at 
length  the  climax  came  in  this  way:  Dur- 
ing one  of  the  regular  meetings  of  the  so- 
ciety she  arose  and  said :  "  I  am  greatly  in- 
55 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

terested  in  the  neglected  and  abused  Indians. 
I  have  been  reading  much  about  them  of 
late,  and  I  would  be  willing  to  prepare  a 
paper  for  our  next  meeting  on  the  Kiowas." 

It  was  learned  afterward  that  her  hus- 
band's sister  from  out  West  somewhere  was 
expecting  to  be  in  Libertyville  at  the  time 
of  the  next  meeting. 

Mrs.  Sweet,  Elder  Heartwell's  daughter, 
who  was  president  of  the  society  at  that 
time,  fearful  of  hurting  Mrs.  Dolittle's  feel- 
ings, replied  in  her  kindest  manner :  "  The 
programme  for  our  next  meeting  is  to  be 
on  foreign  missions,  and  we  are  to  study 
the  work  among  the  Karens.  I  fear  a  paper 
on  the  Kiowa  Indians  would  hardly  be 
suited  to  the  occasion;  but  I  am  sure  the 
programme  committee  will  be  very  happy 
to  have  Sister  Dolittle's  paper  at  the 
following  meeting." 

"Very  well,"  replied  Mrs.  Dolittle,  "if 
this  society  is  not  ready  to  do  missionary 
work  where  it  is  most  needed,  and  cares 
nothing  for  the  heathen  at  our  own  doors, 
and  does  not  want  my  paper,  perhaps  you 
do  not  want  me  or  my  money,  and  I  will 
do  now  what  I  have  often  thought  of  do- 
ing. I  offer  my  resignation  as  a  member 
of  this  society,  and  desire  to  say  in  doing 
56 


Gbieflg  Concerning  JTlrs.  Belittle 

so  that  I  do  not  believe  an  angel  from 
heaven  would  be  appreciated  by  you  here." 

"  I  don't  see  what  our  sister's  reference 
to  an  angel  has  to  do  with  the  case," 
was  Mrs.  Sharp's  prompt  response,  and 
then  said :  "  I  move  that  Mrs.  Dolittle's 
resignation  be  accepted." 

The  motion  was  seconded  and  carried 
without  debate.  Mrs.  Bradley  told  me: 
"  The  ladies  had  all  become  so  tired  of  her, 
and  she  had  interfered  so  much  with  their 
work,  that  they  felt  she  and  the  society 
would  both  be  better  off  if  she  were  not  a 
member." 

None  of  Mrs.  Dolittle's  children  were 
members  of  the  church.  In  fact,  they 
seemed  to  dislike  the  church,  and  to 
have  a  decided  preference  for  other 
denominations. 

"  I  don't  understand  why  it  is,"  she  said 
to  Mrs.  Paxton,  "  that  a  woman  who  has 
been  so  faithful  to  the  church  as  I  have 
been,  and  who  has  borne  and  forgiven  so 
much,  should  have  children  who  care  so 
little  for  the  church." 

"  It  is  indeed  a  mysterious  dispensation 
of  Providence,"  responded  Mrs.  Paxton. 

Mrs.  Dolittle  went  on :  "If  the  church 
had  treated  me  half-way  decently,  and  had 
57 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

shown  some  slight  appreciation  of  all  I 
have  done,  things  would  have  been  very 
different.  I  have  frequently  talked  this  all 
over  with  my  dear  children."  (She  always 
spoke  of  her  children,  seeming  to  lose  sight 
of  Mr.  Dolittle's  position  in  the  family.) 
:'  They  feel  very  keenly  the  way  their 
mother  has  been  treated,  and  I  honor  them 
"but " 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  Mrs.  Paxton  said, 
"but " 

"  I  have  done  my  best,  however,"  Mrs. 
Dolittle  interrupted,  "  and  no  one  can  say 
that  I  have  not  been  a  faithful  mother,  but 
some  of  the  members  of  that  church  will 
have  a  good  deal  to  answer  for  in  the  day 
of  judgment  for  turning  my  loved  ones 
away  from  the  church." 

But  I  fear  I  have  said  too  much  about 
Mrs.  Dolittle.  She  was  a  woman  of  some 
excellent  qualities.  She  was  always  ready 
to  help  care  for  the  sick  and  was  very 
kind  to  the  destitute.  But  she  was  so  self- 
conscious,  so  blind  to  her  own  faults,  and 
so  jealous  of  her  "  rights  "  that  she  con- 
stantly made  herself  and  those  about  her 
unhappy.  If  she  could  only  have  seen  her- 
self as  others  saw  her  and  been  as  earnest  in 
self-correction  as  she  was  in  denouncing 
58 


3uDge  Straight  and  Some  Ctbers 

others,  she  might  have  been  as  useful  as 
she  thought  she  was. 


VI 

3uDge  Stratflbt  ano  Some  ©tbera 

Some  always  speak  with  an  even  tone, 
They  have  no  ups  and  downs; 

Their  moderation  is  always  known, 
And  few  are  their  smiles  or  frowns. 

HAVE  been  thinking  to-day  of 
Judge  Straight,  and  several  inci- 
dents in  which  he  figured  have 
come  to  my  mind.  I  recall  the  evening  when 
Mrs.  Poor  united  with  the  church.  She 
must  have  been  past  fifty  years  of  age,  a 
woman  with  a  remarkably  changeable  face; 
animation  and  depression,  hope  and  fear 
were  constantly  struggling  with  each  other 
for  expression. 

There  had  been  some  division  of  opin- 
ion among  the  deacons  as  to  whether  or 
not  she  should  be  recommended  for  mem- 
bership. Deacon  Stearns  thought  her  views 
on  "  falling  from  grace  "  were  unsound  and 
was  unwilling  to  have  her  come  into  the 
church.  But  the  others  were  all  in  favor 
59 


Cburcb  at 

of  recommending  her,  and  so  she  came  be- 
fore the  church  on  the  evening  of  which 
I  am  speaking.  Her  testimony  was  some- 
what rambling  and  indefinite,  and  I  must 
confess,  quite  unsatisfactory. 

I  saw  Judge  Straight,  while  she  was 
speaking,  deliberately  take  off  his  spectacles 
and  wipe  them  and  carefully  replace  them, 
and  then  closely  study  the  shifting  expres- 
sion on  Mrs.  Poor's  face,  until  she  was 
through  speaking. 

He  then  said :  "  Madam,  how  long  do  I 
understand  that  you  have  been  a  Chris- 
tian?" 

"  I  have  been  a  Christian,  off  and  on,  ever 
since  I  was  twenty  years  of  age,"  was  her 
honest  if  not  conventional  reply. 

"  That  is  the  trouble !  "  exclaimed  Deacon 
Stearns,  springing  to  his  feet  and  interrupt- 
ing Judge  Straight,  who  was  about  to  speak. 
"  She  has  been  a  Methodist  and  has  fallen 
from  grace  so  often  that  she  has  no  busi- 
ness in  a  church  where  she  cannot  have 
that  privilege." 

"  Perhaps,  deacon,"  said  Judge  Straight, 
"  she  ought  to  have  the  privilege  taken  away 
from  her."  Then  turning  to  Mrs.  Poor,  he 
added :  "  I  have  no  doubt  of  your  sincerity 
and  shall  vote  for  your  reception  into  the 
60 


Straiflbt  and  Some  ©tbers 

church,  but  there  ought  to  be  no  '  off  and 
on '  in  the  Christian  life,  and  I  urge  you 
to  let  your  life  hereafter  be  regulated  by 
duty  rather  than  by  emotion." 

"  I  will  do  the  best  I  can,"  was  her  reply, 
and  she  did,  though  her  Christian  life  was 
always  somewhat  variable. 

Judge  Straight  was  a  man  of  marked  in- 
tegrity and  was  highly  respected  by  all. 
He  was  dignified  and  formal  and  many 
thought  him  cold  and  unsympathetic;  and 
yet  scores  of  poor  people  could  tell  of  his 
acts  of  kindness  and  generosity.  But  he 
himself  never  referred  to  these  things.  He 
was  not  given  to  handshaking,  and  was  far 
from  a  success  when  he  did  undertake  it. 

I  heard  Charley  Goodwill  say  to  him  one 
Sunday :  "  Judge,  you  ought  to  go  to  the 
Salvation  Army  for  a  while,  and  take  a 
course  of  instruction  in  handshaking." 

The  judge  smiled  and  replied :  "  I  wish 
I  could  shake  hands  as  you  do,  but  I  fear 
I  can  never  learn." 

I  remember  that  George  Bane,  a  young 
fellow  who  had  joined  the  church,  came  to 
me  one  day,  saying :  "  I  don't  think  I  will 
go  to  church  any  more.  The  members  won't 
speak  to  me  on  the  street,  and  if  I  am  not 
61 


Cburcb  at  TLlbcrty>ville 

good  enough  to  be  recognized  outside  of 
the  church  building  I'll  stay  away." 

George  was  a  good  fellow,  but  came  from 
a  poor  family,  and  was  very  sensitive. 

"  Why,  George,"  I  said,  shaking  his  hand 
cordially,  "  What  is  the  matter  now  ?  Who 
has  been  slighting  you?" 

"  I've  met  Judge  Straight  three  times  this 
week  face  to  face  on  the  street,  and  spoke 
to  him  twice,  and  he  has  refused  to  speak 
to  me  every  time.  If  you  call  that  religion 
I  don't  want  any  of  it.  I  don't  have  to  go 
where  people  won't  speak  to  me." 

It  took  me  nearly  an  hour  to  convince 
George  that  he  was  mistaken  and  that  the 
judge  had  not  seen  him  at  all,  and  I  don't 
know  that  I  would  have  succeeded  then 
had  not  Charley  Goodwill  happened  along 
and  helped  me. 

Chancing  to  meet  the  judge  the  next  day 
I  said  to  him :  "  Judge,  have  you  seen 
George  Bane  this  week  ?  " 

"  No,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  not  happened 
to  meet  him  anywhere.  Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

I  then  explained  to  him,  and  with  a  depth 
of  feeling  which  he  rarely  manifested  he 
said,  "  I  am  very  sorry,  Brother  Bradley, 
and  I  will  try  to  be  more  careful.  We  must 
be  considerate  for  such  young  men." 
62 


Judge  Stcatflbt  an&  Some  ©tbers 

Not  long  after  the  judge  had  been  elected 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  he 
greatly  offended  the  treasurer,  Mr.  C.  E. 
Banks.  It  came  about  in  this  way:  The 
annual  meeting  was  approaching  and  the 
trustees  were  going  through  the  routine 
business  in  preparation  for  it. 

Finally  Judge  Straight  said :  "  Mr. 
Chairman,  I  move  that  Mr.  Allan  and  Mr. 
Blake  be  appointed  a  committee  to  audit 
the  treasurer's  accounts." 

Scarcely  able  to  restrain  the  intense  ex- 
citement into  which  this  motion  threw  him, 
Mr.  Banks  exclaimed:  "  I  have  been  treas- 
urer of  this  church  for  ten  years,  and  this 
is  the  first  time  my  honesty  has  ever  been 
questioned.  If  the  time  has  come  when  you 
are  unwilling  any  longer  to  trust  me  I  will 
resign,  and  you  can  find  some  one  who  you 
think  will  not  steal  the  church  funds ! " 

Mr.  Banks  was  an  excellent  man  and  a 
good  church  treasurer,  but  was  very 
excitable. 

The  judge  replied  very  calmly :  "  It  never 
occurred  to  me  that  it  was  not  the  custom 
of  this  church  to  have  an  auditing  com- 
mittee, nor  have  I  ever  for  a  moment  en- 
tertained any  question  whatever  respecting 
the  entire  honesty  of  our  treasurer,  but  no 
63 


vibe  Cburcb  at  OLibcrtxnnllc 

reputable  business  concern  ever  thinks  of 
dispensing  with  the  careful  auditing  of  its 
accounts.  It  is  a  safeguard  against  mis- 
takes which  any  man  is  liable  to  make,  and 
promotes  business  methods." 

"  There  is  a  difference  between  a  church 
and  a  business  concern,"  replied  Mr.  Banks, 
"  and  if  we  cannot  trust  each  other  in  the 
church,  we  had  better  give  up  our  religion." 

"  I  for  one,"  said  Mr.  Blake,  "  am  in 
favor  of  having  a  little  more  business  in 
our  religion;  not  that  we  will  have  any 
more  confidence  in  each  other,  but  the  world 
will  have  a  little  more  confidence  in  us.  I 
am  in  favor  of  Judge  Straight's  mo- 
tion." After  some  further  discussion  Mr. 
Banks  was  pacified  and  the  committee  was 
appointed. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Rev.  David 
Murray  became  our  pastor.  He  was  a  man 
of  good  ability  and  great  spiritual  earnest- 
ness, but  seemed  to  lack  certain  practical  ele- 
ments of  character  which  seem  to  me  to  be 
essential  to  the  largest  success  in  the  min- 
istry. He  insisted  that  he  should  receive 
no  stated  salary,  but  that  he  be  given  what 
was  left  from  the  regular  collections  after 
all  expenses  had  been  paid.  This  went  on 
64 


3uD0e  Straight  anD  Some  ©tbers 

for  some  time  until  one  day  Mrs.  Sharp 
and  Mrs.  Bradley  were  calling  on  the 
pastor's  wife. 

"  How  is  it,"  inquired  Mrs.  Sharp,  in 
the  course  of  the  conversation,  "  that  James 
has  quit  school  ?  " 

Tears  came  to  Mrs.  Murray's  eyes  as  she 
replied :  "  He  has  had  to  go  to  work  to  help 
support  the  family." 

"  Has  it  come  to  this  ?  "  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Sharp,  "  that  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Libertyville  can't  take  care  of  its  pastor  and 
family?" 

Then  Mrs.  Murray  said:  "I  just  can't 
keep  still  any  longer.  I  want  to  be  good 
and  trust  God,  and  all  that,  but  I  am  utterly 
sick  of  David's  no-salary  idea.  I  have 
saved  and  scrimped  beyond  all  reason,  and 
almost  beyond  all  endurance,  and  matters 
are  getting  worse  all  the  time,  and  I  some- 
times wonder  if  the  church  would  care  if 
we  all  starved  to  death.  I  may  be  awful 
wicked,  but  I  don't  believe  it  is  God's  plan 
to  cultivate  the  stinginess  of  his  church,  and 
I  have  greatly  troubled  David  by  telling  him 
so.  I  know  I  ought  not  to  talk  in  this  way, 
but  I  just  can't  help  it."  And  then  she 
gave  way  to  tears  and  sobs. 

"  Of  course  you  can't,  my  dear,  and  you 
E  65 


ttbe  Cburcb  at  XibettBvtlle 

ought  not  to ;  you  have  kept  still  too  long," 
said  Mrs.  Sharp.  "  It  is  a  downright  shame 
to  think  how  thoughtless  we  have  all  been ; 
I'll  go  to  the  trustees  myself  and  I  will  tell 
them  a  few  things." 

"  Oh,  no,  no !  "  cried  Mrs.  Murray,  reach- 
ing out  her  hands  in  pleading  protest ;  "  you 
must  not  do  that;  David  would  never  for- 
give me.  You  must  not  do  a  thing  because 
of  what  I  have  said.  If  the  church  will  not 
do  anything  without  my  stirring  them  up, 
nothing  must  be  done.  Can't  they  see  and 
know  without  my  telling  them  ?  " 

That  week  was  the  time  for  the  meeting 
of  the  advisory  committee,  which  in  our 
church  was  made  up  of  all  the  officers  and 
several  others  specially  selected. 

When  the  treasurer  read  his  report  it 
was  very  brief,  and  as  there  was  no  deficit, 
no  one  paid  much  attention  to  it. 

The  chairman  was  about  to  call  for  the 
next  item  of  business  when  Judge  Straight 
spoke :  "  It  has  been  nearly  a  year  now 
since  we  discontinued  a  stated  salary  to  our 
pastor.  I  disapproved  of  that  measure  at 
that  time  and  have  had  no  occasion  to 
change  my  mind  since.  I  would  like  to 
have  the  treasurer  state  again  how  much  the 
pastor  received  during  the  past  month." 
66 


3uDfle  Straiflbt  and  Some  Otbers 

"  Twenty  dollars  and  forty-eight  cents," 
was  the  reply. 

Before  Judge  Straight  could  continue, 
Deacon  Stearns  spoke :  "  We  have  a  pastor 
after  my  own  heart.  He  is  not  forever 
harping  about  money.  He  is  far  removed 
from  the  allurements  of  the  flesh,  and  is  a 
stranger  to  the  sordid  business  methods, 
which  are  so  attractive  to  some.  His  plan 
has  greatly  lightened  the  burdens  of  the 
church.  I  have  never  before  enjoyed  myself 
so  much.  It  is  a  pleasure  now  to  listen  to 
the  treasurer's  reports,  as  there  is  never 
any  deficit,  and  there  is  no  begging  for 
money.  Why,  it  was  only  last  week  Brother 
Delaney  was  telling  me  how  much  he  en- 
joyed coming  to  church  now,  since  he  did 
not  have  to  make  any  pledge  to  the  pastor's 
salary.  I  think  it  would  be  a  great  mis- 
take to  go  back  to  the  old  method.  And 
then  we  must  remember  that  this  is  the 
pastor's  own  plan,  and  as  long  as  he  is  sat- 
isfied I  don't  see  why  we  should  do  anything 
about  it.  It  might  hurt  his  feelings." 

When  Deacon  Stearns  sat  down  the  judge 
resumed :  "  I  was  about  to  remark,"  he  said, 
"  that  our  present  way  of  doing  is  thor- 
oughly unbusinesslike,  and  I  think  I  may 
add,  unscriptural.  The  Master  himself  said, 
67 


3be  Cburcb  at  XibertfiviUe 

when  he  sent  out  his  disciples, '  The  laborer 
is  worthy  of  his  hire.'  Now  '  hire  '  is  some- 
thing definite.  Paul,  you  will  remember, 
wrote :  '  They  which  wait  at  the  altar,  are 
partakers  of  the  altar,  even  so  hath  the 
Lord  ordained,  that  they  which  preach  the 
gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel.'  We  all 
know  that  in  the  olden  times,  those  who 
served  at  the  altar  received  a  generous  and 
definite  portion  for  their  support,  and  so  I 
believe  those  who  preach  the  gospel  should 
know  what  they  are  to  receive.  This  is  to 
my  mind  both  scriptural  and  common  sense, 
and  the  two,  in  my  judgment,  never 
conflict." 

"  I  believe  in  business,  all  right,"  said 
Charley  Goodwill,  who  evidently  was  greatly 
interested,  "  and  it  looks  as  though  the 
judge  has  got  the  Scripture  with  him  too. 
The  judge  just  quoted :  '  They  that  preach 
the  gospel  shall  live  by  the  gospel.'  Well, 
I  want  to  say,  that  I  happen  to  know  that 
our  pastor  and  his  family  are  making  a 
mighty  poor  living  of  it.  Dan  Murray  told 
my  Fred  to-day  that  he  had  quit  school  and 
gone  to  work  at  the  cannery  to  get  some- 
thing to  eat.  Said  he  had  got  tired  living 
on  oatmeal  and  beans,  and  that  he  hadn't 
much  of  an  opinion  of  a  church  that  was 
68 


Straight  an&  Some  ®tbers 

too  stingy  to  pay  its  pastor  enough  to  get 
food,  saying  nothing  about  decent  clothing. 
And  when  I  happened  to  see  Mrs.  Murray 
at  the  market  yesterday,  and  quietly  noted 
what  she  was  buying,  and  saw  how  worn 
and  anxious  she  looked,  I  just  made  up  my 
mind  that  this  no-salary  foolery  had  got  to 
stop,  if  I  had  anything  to  say  about  it. 
Think  of  a  family  of  six  living  on  a  mis- 
erable twenty  dollars  and  forty-eight  cents 
a  month.  I  don't  wonder  Dan  is  disgusted 
with  the  church.  I  move  you,  sir,  that  we 
recommend  that  the  pastor's  salary  be  fixed 
as  heretofore,  at  one  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  a  year." 

Judge  Straight  promptly  seconded  the 
motion,  and  all  voted  for  it  but  Deacon 
Stearns,  and  he  did  not  vote  at  all. 

It  was  never  known  just  what  Charley 
Goodwill  and  Judge  Straight  said  to  the 
pastor  when  they  reported  this  action  to 
him,  but  he  offered  no  opposition  when  the 
matter  was  brought  before  the  church ;  and 
even  Deacon  Stearns  had  to  admit  that  his 
sermons  suffered  nothing  in  spirituality,  and 
many  thought  they  gained  in  cheerfulness, 
breadth,  and  practical  power. 

Speaking  of  Judge  Straight  recalls  to  my 
mind  an  interesting  deacons'  meeting  we 

69 


Gbe  (Jburcb  at  libert^vtlle 

had  when  the  judge's  son,  Benjamin,  ap- 
plied for  church-membership.  He  was  six- 
teen years  of  age  and  was  very  much  like 
his  father.  It  was  in  midsummer,  and  there 
had  been  no  revival  meetings  since  the 
January  before;  in  fact,  church  life  was  at 
rather  low  ebb,  when  he  surprised  the  dea- 
cons by  walking  deliberately  into  their  meet- 
ing and  announcing  in  a  quiet  way  that  he 
would  like  to  unite  with  the  church. 

After  a  few  preliminary  questions  had 
been  asked  him,  Deacon  Eager  said :  "  Ben- 
jamin, when  did  you  pass  from  death  into 
life,  from  darkness  into  his  marvelous  light, 
and  have  your  soul  flooded  with  an  affluence 
of  the  divine  glory  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  name  any  definite  time  when 
I  became  a  Christian,"  was  the  reply. 

"  When  I  became  a  Christian,"  exclaimed 
Deacon  Eager,  "  I  knew  it.  Everything  was 
changed;  the  sunshine  was  brighter,  the 
birds  sang  sweeter,  and  all  nature  was  mel- 
lifluous with  beauty ;  and  the  things  I  once 
loved  I  now  hated,  and  what  I  once  hated 
I  now  loved.  I  would  like  to  know  if  our 
young  brother  has  ever  passed  through  this 
supernal  change." 

"  No,  I  have  had  nothing  like  this.  I 
have  always  believed  in  the  gospel  and  am 
70 


Sttaigbt  and  Some  Otbere 

trying  to  follow  Christ,  and  have  some  sat- 
isfaction in  doing  so.  I  am  trusting  in  him 
for  salvation,  and  expect  to  serve  him  as 
long  as  I  live." 

Deacon  Stearns  now  cleared  his  throat, 
and  peering  over  the  tops  of  his  spectacles 
at  the  young  man,  spoke :  "  I  think  Brother 
Eager's  experience,  as  I  have  had  occasion 
to  say  before,  was  somewhat  exceptional. 
It  is  not  vouchsafed  to  every  one  to  pass 
through  transfiguration  experiences ;  but  we 
are  all  miserable  sinners  and  should  all  pass 
through  the  deep  waters  of  overwhelming 
conviction  and  repentance. 

"  I  would  like,  therefore,  to  ask  our 
young  friend  if  he  has  at  any  time  had  a 
crushing  sense  of  his  awful  sinfulness,  and 
a  realization  that  he  was  deservedly  exposed 
to  the  divine  wrath,  and  that  his  everlast- 
ing condemnation  would  fittingly  display 
the  infinite  justice  and  holiness  of  God? 
I  well  remember  when  all  the  mighty  waters 
passed  over  me  and  I  could  hear,  as  it  were, 
the  flames  of  divine  wrath  roaring  in  my 
ears.  I  trust  our  young  friend  will  tell  us 
freely  of  his  own  experience  in  reference  to 
these  great  and  fundamental  matters." 

"  I  have  had  no  experience,"  he  replied, 
"  such  as  Deacon  Stearns  has  described.  I 

71 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

know  I  have  done  wrong  many  times  and 
have  often  thought  that  I  ought  to  have  a 
deeper  sense  of  my  guilt.  But  I  don't 
know  what  more  I  can  do.  I  am  trying  to 
do  what  I  believe  is  right.  I  have  asked 
God  to  forgive  me  and  help  me.  I  do  not 
know  how  to  go  to  work  to  feel  worse 
about  my  sins,  and  so  I  am  not  worrying 
about  it." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  Deacon  Stearns, 
"  that  our  young  friend  has  defective  views 
of  sin." 

"  Yes,"  added  Deacon  Perkins,  "  I  am 
afraid  that  is  the  trouble  with  all  of  us. 
My  idea  is  that  the  conviction  for  sin,  which 
God  wants,  is  not  so  much  an  awful  ex- 
perience at  conversion,  as  an  everyday  ex- 
perience, that  will  keep  us  from  doing  mean 
things  and  help  us  to  be  true  and  honest. 
That's  my  view  of  it.  I  didn't  have  any 
great  experience  of  sin  at  my  conversion, 
but  I  have  had  considerable  since." 

Charley  Goodwill  now  got  a  chance  to 
speak :  "I've  known  Ben  a  long  time,  ever 
since  he  was  a  little  chap,  and  he  has  been 
in  my  Sunday-school  class  for  over  a  year 
now.  He  is  all  straight,  and  no  play  on 
the  word,  either.  He  may  not  have  had 
any  great  experience.  How  could  he?  He 
72 


of  Doctrine 

has  always  been  a  good  boy.  It  strikes  me 
that  past  experiences  ought  not  to  count 
for  so  much  as  present  conditions.  Ben 
says  he  is  trusting  in  Christ,  and  is  deter- 
mined to  follow  him.  That  is  enough  for 
me.  I  move  he  be  recommended  to  the 
church." 

The  motion  was  carried  unanimously. 
Deacons  Stearns  and  Eager  were  good  men, 
and  after  they  had  "  borne  their  testimony  " 
by  referring  to  their  own  experiences  they 
felt  free  to  fall  in  with  existing  conditions 
and  do  what  was  manifestly  reasonable  and 
right. 


VII 

of  Doctrine 


The  winds  of  doctrine 

Diversely   blow, 
And  some  are  tossed 

Both  to  and  fro. 

jjAVING  referred  to  Deacon  Eager, 
I  must  tell  more  about  him  and  re- 
late    some     interesting     incidents 
which  come  to  my  mind. 

He  was  a  small  man,  and  on  Sundays 

73 


Cburcb  at  3Libert£vtlle 

and  other  occasions,  when  he  went  out  with 
Mrs.  Eager,  he  wore  a  high  silk  hat,  in 
order  to  make  the  difference  between  his 
height  and  that  of  his  wife,  who  was  very 
tall,  less  conspicuous.  His  early  education 
had  been  somewhat  neglected,  and  he 
sometimes  became  a  little  confused  in  the 
use  of  words. 

I  remember  one  evening  at  prayer-meet- 
ing we  were  having  rather  a  dull  time ;  only 
a  few  had  taken  part,  notwithstanding  the 
urgent  appeals  of  the  pastor  and  a  pointed 
talk  on  duty  by  Deacon  Stearns.  The  long 
pause  which  followed  Deacon  Stearns'  re- 
marks was  becoming  painful,  when  Deacon 
Eager  led  in  prayer  and  in  his  earnest  pe- 
titions for  the  church,  he  exclaimed :  "  O 
Lord,  give  thy  servants  the  spirit  of 
testification !  " 

One  day  I  met  Deacon  Eager  on  the  street 
and  he  stopped  me  and  said :  "  Brother 
Bradley,  I  want  you  to  be  sure  to  be  at  the 
deacons'  meeting  to-night,  as  I  have  a  mat- 
ter of  great  importance  to  propose."  I  as- 
sured him  that  I  would  be  there,  and  went 
on,  wondering  what  new  "  wind  of  doc- 
trine "  had  struck  him  now. 

The  meeting  convened  at  the  usual  time, 
and  as  soon  as  there  was  opportunity, 
74 


ot  2>octrine 

Deacon  Eager  arose  and  said :  "  I  have 
something  of  virile  importance  which  I  wish 
to  lay  before  the  deacons  in  order  that  they 
may  recommend  it  to  the  church.  While 
I  was  at  the  Association  I  was  entertained 
at  the  same  place  with  Rev.  John  Briggs,  of 
Yorktown.  He  is  a  young  man  of  most 
extinctional  gifts.  He  is  going  to  have  in- 
corporated in  his  church  a  beautiful  service 
of  infant  dedication.  He  proposes  to  have 
all  the  infants  of  two  years  old  and  under 
brought  to  the  church  on  Children's  Day 
and  then  hold  a  dedicationary  service.  I  am 
in  favor  of  such  a  service  everywhere.  It 
will  put  an  end  to  infant  baptism,  Brother 
Briggs  thinks,  and  do  lots  of  good  in  di- 
verse ways.  Hence  I  propound  the  fol- 
lowing resolution :  '  Resolved,  that,  we  the 
deacons  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Libertyville,  do  hereby  recommend  that  on 
the  coming  Children's  Day  there  be  held  a 
formidable  service  of  infant  consecration ; 
and  that  we  do  expect  all  parents  of  our 
church  and  congregation  to  bring  their  in- 
fant children  to  this  service,  and  that  we 
do  thereby  confute  all  infant  sprinkling 
and  give  to  young  children  their  rightful 
relationship  to  the  church.'  " 

He  was  about  to  proceed  in  defense  of 
75 


ttbe  Cburcb  at  Ztbertsvitle 

his  resolution  when  Deacon  Stearns,  who 
had  with  difficulty  restrained  himself  during 
the  reading  of  the  resolution,  exclaimed: 
"  I  am  decidedly  opposed  to  this  whole  busi- 
ness. What  does  that  young  heretical  up- 
start at  Yorktown  know  about  Baptist 
usage?  If  he  had  a  Baptist  wife  it  would 
be  a  good  deal  better  for  him  and  for  the 
church.  It  was  Solomon's  heathen  wives 
that  got  him  into  trouble.  I  have  been  a 
Baptist  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  have 
sat  under  the  ministry  of  some  of  the  great- 
est men  of  our  denomination  and  never 
heard  anything  of  this  before.  It  is  a  step 
toward  popery.  It  is  an  attempt  to  bring 
the  church  into  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 
the  bond  of  iniquity." 

"  I'd  like  to  know,"  interrupted  Deacon 
Eager,  "  where  the  gall  of  iniquity  is  in 
bringing  an  immaculate  babe  to  the  house 
of  God  and  praying  that  the  parents  may 
bring  it  up  in  the  culture  and  adoration  of 
the  Lord." 

"  I  have  often  felt,"  said  Charley  Good- 
will, "  that  there  ought  to  be  a  service  held 
like  this,  Brother  Eager  refers  to.  In  Old 
Testament  times  they  brought  their  babes 
to  the  temple,  and  we  know  Jesus  took  little 
children  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them.  It 
76 


of  Doctrine 

is  possible  that  in  our  opposition  to  infant 
baptism  we  have  gone  to  the  other  extreme." 

"  It  would,  in  my  judgment,  be  a  very 
dangerous  experiment,"  interposed  Doctor 
Spear.  "  Very  soon  some  one  would  want 
godfathers  and  godmothers,  and  then  the 
name  would  be  given  at  the  time  of  con- 
secration, and  soon  some  one  would  want 
a  little  water  used,  just  to  add  dignity  to 
the  occasion,  and  thus  the  church  would  go 
clear  over  into  the  camp  of  the  enemy. 
These  are  evil  days  when  Satan  comes 
clothed  like  an  angel  of  light  to  deceive,  if 
possible,  the  very  elect.  This  looks  to  me 
like  a  covert  attempt  to  put  '  the  mark  of 
the  beast '  upon  our  beloved  denomination." 

Deacon  Smith  now  spoke :  "I  do  not 
share  the  feeling  of  Doctor  Spear  in  this 
matter,  nor  am  I  prepared  to  favor  Deacon 
Eager's  resolution.  I  do  not  see  any  great 
good  to  come  from  a  formal  church  service 
for  the  dedication  of  infants.  There  is 
always  a  danger  of  attaching  undue  im- 
portance to  such  forms.  There  was  very 
little  of  the  formal  in  Christ's  blessing  the 
little  children.  I  do  feel,  however,  that  a 
simple  service  in  the  home  where  there  is 
a  young  babe  might  be  made  very  helpful." 

"  What  is  the  harm  of  having  it  in 
77 


Cburcb  at 

the  church  ? "  exclaimed  Deacon  Eager. 
"  What  is  the  use  of  having  a  church  ? 
We  have  socials  and  lectures  and  weddings 
and  funerals  in  the  church.  Why  not  de- 
vote our  infants  in  the  church?  I  would 
like  to  know.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  be- 
ing too  much  afraid  of  forms.  I  notice  that 
the  most  of  our  people  are  so  adverse  to 
forms  that  they  will  not  bow  their  heads 
during  prayer.  I  think  a  few  more  forms 
in  the  church  would  be  a  wholesome  reno- 
vation." I  confess  that  I  felt  a  good  deal 
of  sympathy  for  Deacon  Eager,  but  I  said 
nothing  and  he  went  on :  "  But  I  see  you  are 
not  ready  to  adopt  my  resolution,  and  I 
hereby  withdraw  it."  And  so  the  matter 
was  dropped. 

One  summer  a  tent  was  pitched  not  far 
from  our  church,  and  in  large  letters  the 
passers-by  read :  "  Holiness  Unto  the  Lord ! 
The  Real  Thing  Come  and  be  Sanctified, 
Body,  Soul,  and  Spirit !  " 

As  I  was  going  by  the  tent  one  evening 
I  saw  Deacon  Eager  near  the  door,  passing 
out  hand-bills.  He  saw  me,  and  grasping 
my  hand  with  great  fervor,  exclaimed: 
"  O  Brother  Bradley,  come  in !  The  Lord 
has  done  wonderful  things  for  me,  whereof 
78 


ot  Doctrine 

I  am  glad.  I  am  entirely,  wholly  sanctified. 
I  never  knew  the  gospel  before.  I  have  a 
great  pacification,  which  I  can't  describe." 

But  I  had  an  important  engagement 
downtown,  and  left  the  deacon  earnestly 
exhorting  the  next  passer-by  to  come  in. 

At  the  next  prayer-meeting  of  the  church 
Deacon  Eager  was  present  on  the  front 
seat,  with  a  new  limp-covered  Bible  under 
his  arm,  and  with  a  peculiar  expression  of 
mingled  serenity  and  conceit  on  his  face. 
He  joined  in  the  opening  hymns  with  much 
fervor,  closing  his  eyes,  and  swaying  his 
body  in  a  kind  of  rhythmic  accompaniment 
to  the  music.  I  noticed  his  wife  nudge 
him  one  or  twice  with  her  elbow,  but  this 
caused  only  a  slight  interruption  of  his 
on-coming  ecstasy. 

After  a  few  prayers  and  the  pastor's 
remarks,  the  meeting  was  "  thrown  open." 

Deacon  Eager  at  once  sprang  to  his  feet, 
stepped  out  in  front,  facing  the  audience, 
and  in  a  high-pitched  voice,  with  violent 
gesticulations  and  frequent  tears,  spoke  for 
nearly  half  an  hour.  No  one  knows  how 
much  longer  he  would  have  spoken  had  not 
the  pastor  stepped  to  his  side  and  quietly 
said  something  to  him  which  led  him  to 
take  his  seat. 

79 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  reproduce  that 
speech.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  torrent 
of  platitudes,  exhortations,  and  personal  ex- 
periences. He  said  that  he  was  entirely 
healed  of  "  rheumatiz,"  that  all  love  of  sin 
had  been  taken  away,  and  that  all  his  "  ar- 
ticulations to  the  world  were  fully  extra- 
dited " ;  that  churches  were  rilled  with  "  the 
confiscations  of  worldliness,"  and  that  the 
ministers,  full  of  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 
the  bonds  of  iniquity,  were  preaching  "  a 
deflective  gospel  for  filthy  lucre  and  for 
itching  ears."  He  felt  that  he  was  "  em- 
balmed in  an  affluence  of  glory,"  and  ex- 
horted the  church  to  come  out  from 
under  the  yoke  of  bondage  to  man-made 
creeds  and  ceremonies,  into  the  "  cerulean 
fellowship  of  the  wholly  sanctified." 

I  never  expect  to  hear  such  an  address 
again.  The  meeting  would  have  been  ut- 
terly spoiled  if  Aunt  Dorcas  had  not  fol- 
lowed in  her  gentle  and  winsome  way  and 
told  us  of  a  poor,  discouraged  mother 
whom  she  had  met  that  day  and  helped  to 
find  the  blessings  and  comforts  of  a 
Saviour's  love. 

Everybody  felt  that  Aunt  Dorcas  had  the 
true  kind  of  holiness,  although  she  said 
nothing  about  it. 

80 


lUinoa  of  Doctrine 

But  we  were  not  through  with  Deacon 
Eager.  At  the  next  deacons'  meeting  he 
said  he  would  like  to  present  a  resolution 
which  he  would  lay  before  the  church  when 
it  had  received  the  approval  of  the  deacons. 
He  stated  further  that  he  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Small  and  Miss  Deborah  Strong  had  been 
attending  the  holiness  church,  but  were  un- 
willing to  leave  the  dear,  old  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  would  not  do  so  if  his 
resolutions  were  adopted. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Small  had  been  members 
of  the  church  only  about  a  year;  they  had 
come  to  us  from  the  Methodists,  and  for- 
merly had  belonged  to  the  United  Brethren. 
They  were  good  people,  but  were  somewhat 
changeable. 

Miss  Strong  was  a  maiden  lady  who  was 
rather  peculiar.  It  was  said  that  she  had 
been  disappointed  in  her  early  life  and  had 
become  soured.  I  do  not  know  about  the 
disappointment,  but  the  other  was  quite 
manifest,  both  in  her  face  and  in  her  con- 
duct. She  thought  she  had  a  call  to  preach, 
and  because  she  was  not  encouraged  in  this 
by  our  church,  she  had  been  working  with 
the  Salvation  Army  for  some  time ;  but  the 
captain  had  told  me  only  a  short  time  be- 
fore that  her  preaching  was  so  harsh  and 
F  81 


Ube  Cburcb  at  XibertgvtUe 

uncharitable  that  they  had  decided  not  to 
let  her  preach  any  more  for  them. 

Deacon  Stearns  had  brought  her  case  be- 
fore the  deacons  several  times,  urging  that 
some  action  be  taken  to  prevent  her  from 
disgracing  the  church  and  bringing  re- 
proach upon  the  gospel.  He  admitted  that 
she  was  sound  in  the  faith  and  presented 
the  old  gospel  of  law  and  judgment  with 
great  power,  but  his  objection  was  based 
upon  the  fact  that  she  was  a  woman,  and 
women  should  keep  silence  in  the  churches. 

"  But,"  said  Charley  Goodwill,  "  that  says 
nothing  about  their  keeping  silence  on  the 
streets." 

"  Charles  Goodwill,"  replied  the  deacon, 
"  I  am  surprised  that  you  should  make  light 
of  the  Bible." 

But  I  must  come  back  to  Deacon  Eager's 
resolution.  He  arose  and  with  an  air  of 
great  self-satisfaction  read  the  following : 

Resolved,  that  we,  the  members  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Libertyville,  in  meeting  for- 
merly assembled,  do  hereby  declare  that  we  are 
full  of  pride  and  hypocriticalism  and  given  over 
to  worldliness  and  sin;  and  that  we  believe  that 
by  a  single  action  of  faith,  we  may  be  healed  of 
all  diseases  and  be  wholly  sanctified,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit;  and  further,  we  hereby  promise  to  put 

82 


ot  Doctrine 

away  from  us,  as  far  as  the  east  is  from  the 
west,  as  empty  bubbles  of  sin,  all  ribbons,  jewelry, 
feathers,  and  all  vainness  of  apparel,  and  that  we 
will  earnestly  contend  with  each  other  for  the 
real  burning-bush  holiness. 

When  he  had  taken  his  seat,  Deacon 
Smith  said :  "  I  have  noticed  there  is  plenty 
of  '  contending  with  each  other,'  wherever 
this  holiness  idea  goes.  I  understand  there 
are  already  about  fourteen  different  kinds 
of  perfect  holiness." 

Then  Charley  Goodwill,  with  a  significant 
smile  lighting  up  his  face,  said :  "  Deacon, 
while  you  are  speaking  about  jewelry,  rib- 
bons, and  the  like,  how  would  it  do  to  put 
in  silk  hats  and  hair-oil  ?  " 

The  deacon  looked  at  his  hat,  stroked 
his  thin,  shiny  hair,  but  made  no  reply. 
Evidently  he  was  taking  the  whole  matter 
very  seriously. 

Deacon  Stearns  moved  uneasily  in  his 
seat,  and  finally  spoke :  "  I  agree  with  what 
the  resolution  states  about  hypocrisy  and 
worldliness  in  the  churches,  but  I  think  it 
would  be  unwise  to  pass  such  a  resolution. 
The  better  way  will  be  for  Brother  Eager 
to  remain  with  us,  and  as  opportunity  may 
offer,  bear  his  testimony  against  the  sins  of 
the  people." 

83 


Cbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbettsville 

"  I  am  decidedly  opposed  to  this  whole 
business,"  interposed  Deacon  Perkins.  "  The 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  are  not 
half  so  full  of  pride  and  hypocrisy  as  those 
people  are  who  make  a  disgusting  parade  of 
their  professed  holiness  and  have  to  be 
labeled  '  sanctified '  or  no  one  would  ever 
suspect  that  they  had  anything  of  the  kind. 
The  facts  are,  this  so-called  holiness  stirs 
up  strife,  fills  a  person  with  conceit  and  self- 
righteousness,  splits  churches,  makes  intol- 
erable cranks  and  fanatics  out  of  emotional 
people,  renders  them  disagreeable  at  home, 
makes  men  censorious,  uncharitable,  and 
unsympathetic,  and  is  in  every  way  utterly 
foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel." 

"  Amen !  "  said  Deacon  Smith,  as  Deacon 
Perkins  resumed  his  seat. 

"Well!  Well!"  exclaimed  Deacon 
Eager.  "  If  I  am  a  conceited  hypocrite,  an 
untolerable  crank,  a  divisor  of  the  church 
and  a  hypothetical  fanatic,  it  is  certainly 
time  for  me  to  get  out  and  go  where  I  am 
wanted." 

"No!"  replied  Deacon  Perkins.  "We 
do  not  want  you  to  leave  the  church.  You 
are  too  good  a  man  to  be  led  away  by  this 
delusion.  We  want  you  to  see  the  danger 
and  give  up  all  this  foolishness." 
84 


Cbe  finance  Committee 

But  the  outcome  was  that  Deacon  Eager, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Small,  and  Miss  Deborah 
Strong  all  went  to  the  holiness  church. 

Within  a  year  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Small  joined 
the  Seventh  Day  Adventists,  Miss  Deborah 
Strong  started  a  new  kind  of  holiness,  and 
Brother  Eager,  in  deep  penitence  and  hu- 
mility, was  restored  to  the  fellowship  of  the 
old  church. 

But  when  I  visited  Libertyville  last  sum- 
mer they  told  me  that  he  was  meeting  with 
the  Christian  Scientists,  and  had  found  a 
new  healing  for  his  "  rheumatiz "  and 
another  blessed  "  pacification  "  for  his  soul. 


VIII 
3be  finance  Committee 

Some  are  free,  and  delight  to  give, 
While  some  are  really  too  stingy  to  live ; 
Some  rejoice  in  the  collection  plate, 
An  object  to  others  of  perfect  hate. 

JOR  some  years  I  was  church  treas- 
urer and  member  of  the  finance 
committee.    The  other  members  of 
the  committee  were  Judge  Straight,  Charley 
Goodwill,  John  Driver,  and  Jeremiah  Payne. 
85 


Cbe  Cburcfo  at  Xtbertsville 

It  was  a  good  committee,  with  differences 
enough  in  the  character  of  its  members  to 
insure  the  consideration  of  all  sides  of  the 
questions  coming  before  us. 

Judge  Straight  stood  for  systematic  busi- 
ness methods.  Charley  Goodwill  was  gen- 
erous, impulsive,  and  charitable  in  all  his 
work.  John  Driver  was  always  in  favor  of 
severe  measures.  He  had  no  patience  with 
penuriousness  or  any  disposition  to  shirk 
responsibility.  To  use  his  frequently  em- 
ployed expression,  he  believed  in  "  jerking 
'em  right  up." 

Poor  Jeremiah  Payne  never  saw  anything 
hopeful.  To  him  the  church  was  always 
on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  and  the  mem- 
bers hopelessly  derelict  in  the  matter  of 
giving.  He  was  not  a  success  either  in 
securing  pledges  or  in  collecting  money. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  now  a  meeting 
which  we  held  to  consider  ways  and  means 
for  raising  money  to  enlarge  and  refurnish 
our  church  building.  The  time  had  come 
when  something  must  be  done.  The  build- 
ing had  no  suitable  arrangements  for  Sun- 
day-school or  for  social  gatherings  and  was 
much  out  of  repair. 

Mrs.  Sharp  declared :  "  Those  old  pews 
could  not  have  been  more  uncomfortable 
86 


Gbe  finance  Committee 

if  they  had  been  made  as  a  contrivance  to 
help  the  ancient  monks  to  do  penance." 

For  four  consecutive  years  the  matter  had 
been  up  at  the  annual  meeting  and  had  been 
freely  discussed  and  finally  postponed  on 
account  of  the  prevailing  hard  times.  Jere- 
miah Payne  had  said  at  each  meeting  that 
he  saw  no  indications  that  times  would  ever 
be  any  better;  and  Charley  Goodwill,  I  re- 
member, remarked  at  one  meeting,  "  Times 
seem  a  good  deal  harder  in  a  church  meeting 
than  they  do  in  a  meeting  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club."  Well,  the  matter  went  on, 
until  Brother  Murray  resigned  and  went 
away  almost  heartbroken.  He  was  a  good 
man  and  a  spiritual  preacher,  but  he  was 
not  aggressive  enough  in  practical  ways.  I 
think  if  he  had  led  off  in  a  decided  and 
clearly  defined  plan,  the  building  would 
have  been  repaired.  But  he  was  a  good 
man,  and  I  must  not  criticize  him,  and  I 
must  confess  that  the  amount  of  discourag- 
ing talk  indulged  in  at  our  meetings  was 
enough  to  dishearten  almost  any  one. 

Well,  after  Brother  Murray  had  gone  and 
we  had  heard  a  number  of  candidates,  we 
were  greatly  taken  with  Rev.  John  Paul 
Smith.  I  recall  some  of  the  remarks  made 
about  him  in  the  meeting  in  which  he  was 
87 


Gbc  Cburcb  at 

called.  Judge  Straight  said :  "  I  am  very 
favorably  disposed  toward  Mr.  Smith.  He 
impresses  me  as  a  man  well  endowed  with 
a  thorough  business  capacity."  Deacon 
Stearns  spoke :  "I  do  not  care  so  much 
about  his  business  ability,  but  if  he  pos- 
sesses the  spiritual  insight,  doctrinal  sound- 
ness, and  unselfishness  of  our  beloved 
Brother  Murray,  I  shall  be  satisfied.  I 
fear,  however,  that  he  does  not;  in  fact, 
I  doubt  if  we  ever  find  another  man  pos- 
sessing such  rare  gifts  as  our  late  pastor. 
While  I  feel  that  Mr.  Smith's  sermons  lack 
a  little  in  the  real  evangelical,  doctrinal,  and 
spiritual  ring,  still  I  shall  not  oppose  him." 
When  he  sat  down  Charley  Goodwill 
said :  "  When  a  man  marries  a  second  wife, 
it  is  not  a  good  plan  for  him  to  be  compar- 
ing her  with  his  first  wife,  especially  if  his 
first  wife  was  all  right.  I  like  Brother 
Murray,  but  for  one,  I  am  not  going  to  set 
him  up  as  a  standard  for  Brother  Smith. 
The  men  are  very  different,  and  I  think 
that  is  a  good  thing.  I  believe  Brother 
Smith  is  just  the  man  for  us.  He  is  strong 
with  the  young  folks.  He  is  a  good 
preacher,  and  I  suspect  that  he  will  give 
us  just  the  all-around  stirring  up  that  we 
need." 

88 


Cbc  finance  Committee 

But  I  will  not  attempt  to  tell  all  that 
was  said.  The  outcome  was  that  a  unani- 
mous call  was  given  him,  and  the  church 
eagerly  waited  for  his  reply.  It  came,  and 
was  characteristic  of  the  man,  brief  and  to 
the  point.  It  read: 

DEAR  BRETHREN:  I  greatly  appreciate  the 
promptness  and  unanimity  of  your  call.  I  trust 
it  is  of  the  Lord.  I  see  in  Libertyville  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  do  work  for  the  Master. 
I  accept  your  call  on  condition  that  you  agree  to 
raise  at  once  $10,000  to  enlarge  and  refurnish  the 
church  building.  Kindly  let  me  hear  as  soon  as 
practicable  what  you  decide. 

Yours  for  service, 

J.  P.  SMITH. 

When  the  condition,  ten  thousand  dollars, 
was  read,  I  heard  a  groan  from  Jeremiah 
Payne,  who  sat  near  me,  and  Deacon 
Stearns  actually  turned  pale.  But  scarcely 
had  any  one  had  time  to  realize  what  had 
taken  place  when  Judge  Straight  arose  and 
said :  "  I  like  the  business  tone  of  that  let- 
ter. I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  the  accept- 
ance of  the  condition,  and  will  give  one 
thousand  dollars  if  the  entire  amount  is 
raised." 

"  I  can't  give  as  much  as  the  judge," 
Charley  Goodwill  said,  "  but  you  can  put 
89 


Sbe  Cbutcb  at 

me  down  for  five  hundred  dollars,"  and 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  he  added,  "  I  think 
times  are  improving." 

Without  any  difficulty  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  two  hundred  dollars  was  pledged 
right  there,  and  the  finance  committee  was 
instructed  to  take  immediate  steps  to  secure, 
the  remainder.  The  meeting  to  which  I 
have  alluded  was  the  one  called  to  take  up 
this  matter. 

We  had  no  sooner  proceeded  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  evening  than  Jeremiah  Payne 
spoke :  "  Brethren,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  want 
to  discourage  you,  but  it  never  can  be  done ; 
nearly  everybody  who  can  give  anything 
pledged  yesterday,  and  there  is  nobody  left 
to  get  money  from,  and  what  is  more,  those 
pledges  yesterday  were  made  under  undue 
excitement,  and  not  half  of  them  will  ever 
be  paid.  I  have  been  a  member  of  the 
Libertyville  church  a  good  many  years;  I 
know  how  poor  the  membership  is,  and  I 
know  that  it  is  simply  ridiculous,  in  the 
existing  hard  times,  for  us  to  attempt  to 
raise  ten  thousand  dollars.  Brother  Smith 
might  just  as  well  have  said  a  million,  and 
what  is  more,  in  my  judgment  five  hundred 
dollars  would  be  ample  to  put  our  building 
in  good  shape.  The  old  building  has  met 
90 


cbc  finance  Committee 

our  needs  for  twenty  years,  and  I  guess 
we  can  worry  along  awhile  yet;  at  all 
events,  I  am  sure  we  shall  have  to.  I  never 
want  to  discourage  any  one,  but  facts  are 
facts,  and  we  may  as  well  face  them." 

Brother  Driver  at  once  spoke  up :  "  There 
is  plenty  of  money  here  if  we  can  only  get 
it.  We  have  a  membership  of  over  four' 
hundred.  Twenty-five  dollars  from  each 
one  would  settle  it.  Fifteen  persons  yester- 
day pledged  more  than  half  of  the  entire 
amount.  It  looks  to  me  as  though  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  ought  to  be  able 
to  take  care  of  the  balance.  I  am  in  favor  of 
jerking  'em  right  up  and  making  'em  do  it. 
We  coax  people  altogether  too  much.  In 
the  lodge,  if  they  don't  pay  their  dues,  they 
are  thrown  right  out.  I  believe  it  would  be 
better  if  we  did  the  same  in  the  church." 

After  Brethren  Payne  and  Driver  had 
relieved  their  minds  we  were  ready  for 
business,  and  soon  matured  plans  which 
speedily  resulted  in  securing  the  remainder 
of  the  money  and  in  beginning  a  period 
of  great  prosperity  in  the  church  under  the 
leadership  of  Rev.  John  Paul  Smith. 

There  were  two  classes  of  persons  in  the 
Libertyville  Church  that  caused  the  finance 
91 


Cbc  Cburcb  at 

committee  much  trouble.  Neither  class  was 
large,  and  yet  the  committee  felt  that  they 
ought  not  to  exist  at  all.  One  was  made 
up  of  those  who  always  pledged  to  every- 
thing but  rarely  ever  paid  anything  on  their 
pledges.  The  other  was  composed  of  those 
who  never  pledged  a  cent  to  anything,  not 
even  to  current  expenses.  They  claimed  to 
give  what  they  could  when  the  collection 
plate  was  passed,  but  the  amount  of  the 
loose  collection  was  evidence  against  them. 

One  evening  we  were  discussing  this  lat- 
ter class.  As  treasurer,  I  reported  that  there 
were  thirty  people  in  the  church  who  were 
well  able  to  give  who  had  pledged  nothing 
to  the  expenses  of  the  church,  although  they 
had  been  repeatedly  requested  to  do  so. 
All  felt  that  something  should  be  done. 
Judge  Straight  said :  "  I  am  in  favor  of 
looking  carefully  into  the  financial  ability 
of  these  parties  and  of  assessing  each  one 
a  moderate  but  reasonable  amount,  and  then 
let  us  use  suitable  means  to  induce  them 
to  agree  to  our  assessment." 

"  You  might  just  as  well  assess  lamp- 
posts," Jeremiah  Payne  replied.  "  You 
can't  get  anything  out  of  them.  The  reason 
they  don't  pledge  anything  is  because  they 
are  too  mean  and  stingy  to  do  it.  I  have 
92 


3be  finance  Committee 

known  them  a  long  while.  It  is  just  a 
waste  of  our  time  to  try  to  do  anything 
with  them,  and  the  trouble  is  the  number  is 
increasing.  It  didn't  used  to  be  so  in  the 
church.  Things  are  getting  discouraging 
enough.  When  a  few  of  the  older  members 
are  gone  I  don't  know  what  will  become 
of  the  church." 

John  Driver  now  spoke :  "  I  am  in  favor 
of  jerking  'em  right  up.  We  are  altogether 
too  lenient  with  them.  We  can  palaver  and 
coax  till  doomsday  and  accomplish  nothing. 
Paul  says,  '  If  a  man  will  not  work,  neither 
shall  he  eat,'  and  I  say  if  a  person  will  not 
give  to  the  support  of  the  church,  he  ought 
to  be  turned  out.  I  have  been  thinking 
about  this,  and  have  prepared  a  letter  which 
I  would  like  to  read,  which  I  think  ought  to 
be  sent  to  every  one  of  these  thirty  reported 
by  the  treasurer.  Here  is  the  letter : 

DEAR  SIR:-  You  are  a  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  of  Libertyville,  but  have  pledged 
nothing  to  its  support.  You  must  understand  per- 
fectly well  that  you  are  shirking  your  responsi- 
bility. Please  fill  out  and  return  at  once  the  in- 
closed pledge  card.  If  you  fail  to  do  this  your 
name  will  be  reported  to  the  board  of  deacons  as 
one  deserving  the  discipline  of  the  church. 
Very  respectfully, 

FINANCE  COMMITTEE. 

93 


Gbe  Gbutcb  at  XtbettBville 

"  That  is  my  idea  of  the  way  to  bring 
'em  to  time.  I'd  like  to  have  this  letter  ap- 
proved and  sent  out  at  once.  I  believe  in 
jerking  'em  right  up  and  I  think  this  is  the 
way  to  do  it." 

"  Charity  suffereth  long  and  is  kind," 
said  Charley  Goodwill.  "  It  seems  to  me 
the  case  is  not  so  bad  as  Brother  Driver 
thinks,  nor  so  hopeless  as  Brother  Payne 
regards  it.  As  I  have  been  glancing  over 
the  treasurer's  books  I  see  a  good  many 
names  there  which  formerly  belonged  to  this 
non-pledging  list.  Patience,  kindness,  and 
instruction  have  brought  them  over.  Some- 
times we  may  feel  as  James  and  John  did, 
and  want  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven, 
but  that  is  not  the  gospel  spirit.  Jesus  said 
that  he  had  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives, 
but  to  save  them.  I  am  very  thankful  that 
we  have  the  number  of  those  who  have 
not  pledged  reduced  to  thirty,  and  I  am 
confident  that  we  can  reach  the  most  of 
these.  I  am  in  favor  of  Judge  Straight's 
plan,  with  a  slight  modification.  Let  us 
decide  what  we  think  each  one  can  give  and 
then  see  them  all  personally.  I  am  willing 
to  see  half  of  them  myself,  and  tell  them  not 
that  they  are  assessed,  but  that  we  need  that 
amount  from  them/' 

94 


Gbc  finance  Committee 

After  some  further  discussion  this  plan 
was  adopted  and  proved  very  effective.  But 
perhaps  I  ought  to  add  that  I  think  the  en- 
couraging results  were  due,  not  so  much 
to  the  plan  as  to  the  tact  and  geniality  of 
Charley  Goodwill. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  I  reported  upon 
the  other  class,  those  who  pledged  on  every 
occasion  but  never  paid,  or  at  least  paid 
only  in  part,  and  that  very  slowly  and 
grudgingly.  There  were  only  about  ten  of 
these,  but  their  unpaid  pledges  to  benefi- 
cence and  current  expenses  ran  far  up  into 
the  hundreds  of  dollars  and  back  over  many 
years. 

Jeremiah  Payne  was  the  first  to  speak: 
"  This  neglect  to  pay  obligations  is  one  of 
the  significant  signs  of  the  times." 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  say  that  Brother 
Payne  was  a  great  student  of  prophecy, 
or  at  least  he  claimed  to  be,  and  he  thought 
from  his  studies  that  the  world  and  the 
church  were  both  getting  worse  and  worse, 
and  this  is  what  he  had  in  mind  when  he 
spoke  of  "  the  signs  of  the  times."  Often 
in  prayer-meeting  and  elsewhere  he  referred 
to  "  the  signs,"  especially  the  bad  signs. 
Well,  he  went  on  to  say,  "  The  commercial 
world  is  honeycombed  with  dishonesty. 

95 


3be  Cburcb  at  libertBvtlle 

Men  can't  be  trusted  any  more  and  now 
the  evil  is  getting  into  the  church.  This, 
in  my  judgment,  is  simply  the  beginning  of 
the  manifestation  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  of 
which  Paul  speaks.  I  don't  want  to  dis- 
courage you,  but  this  reveals  a  very  dis- 
heartening state  of  things  in  the  church. 
I  don't  see  any  hope,  and  I  confess  that  I 
see  nothing  that  we  can  do." 

"Nothing  that  we  can  do?"  exclaimed 
Brother  Driver.  "Why  not?  A  pledge 
of  this  kind  is  a  legal  obligation.  I  don't 
care  anything  about  your  '  signs,'  but  I  am 
in  favor  of  getting  right  after  your  '  Man 
of  Sin '  and  of  teaching  him  a  thing  or 
two.  Now  there  is  old  Jim  Delaney,  who 
never  paid  a  cent  in  his  life  for  anything 
when  he  could  get  out  of  it.  He  is  back 
on  his  pledge  two  hundred  dollars,  and  it 
would  be  two  or  three  times  as  much  if 
all  the  old  records  had  been  preserved.  He 
ought  to  be  jerked  right  up  before  the 
courts  and  made  to  pay.  There  is  no  other 
way  to  bring  him  and  those  like  him  to 
time." 

"  The  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already 
work,  and  you  cannot  stop  it  by  any  resort 
to  human  tribunals,"  replied  Brother  Payne. 

"  Mystery  of  nonsense !  "  said  Brother 
96 


•  Driver.  "  There  is  no  mystery  about  it,  and 
they  would  soon  see  it  if  we  went  after  them 
as  we  ought.  There  wouldn't  be  any  great 
mystery  about  a  judgment  from  the  court. 
The  only  mystery  to  me  is  that  the  church 
will  carry  such  a  lot  of  dead-beats  on  its  list 
year  after  year." 

"  I  think,"  began  Judge  Straight,  in  his 
usual  calm  and  dignified  manner,  "  that  Mr. 
Driver's  plan  is  hardly  to  be  recommended, 
since  a  judgment  in  the  most  of  these  cases, 
even  if  it  could  be  secured,  would  be  of 
little  value;  and  then  too,  it  occurs  to  me 
that  Jesus  did  not  commend  the  course  of 
the  man  in  the  parable,  who  took  his  debtor 
by  the  throat  and  said,  '  Pay  that  thou 
owest.'  I  do  not  think  the  Lord  wants  his 
money  collected  in  that  way.  We  must  find 
some  means  of  getting  at  their  consciences 
rather  than  their  throats.  I  see  but  one 
course  that  gives  any  promise,  and  that  is  to 
ask  Mr.  Goodwill  to  see  them  personally, 
giving  him  large  discretionary  powers  as  to 
what  reduction  may  be  made  in  the  pledges 
if  they  are  paid  in  the  near  future." 

This  plan  was  approved,  and  we  were 

delighted  at  the  next  meeting  to  find  that 

a  settlement  had  been  made  with  Mr.  De- 

laney   for   fifty   cents   on   the   dollar;   and 

G  97 


3be  Cburcb  at  Xibcvtvvillc 

others  from  whom  we  had  expected  nothing 
had  paid  all  the  way  from  twenty-five  to 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  their  pledges. 

Brother  Driver,  however,  protested: 
"  They  ought  never  to  be  let  off  in  that 
way.  It  is  really  encouraging  them  in  their 
meanness.  If  I  had  my  way  they  would 
be  jerked  right  up  and  made  to  pay  every 
cent  they  owe." 

But  the  rest  of  us  passed  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  Charley  Goodwill  for  his  efficient  and 
satisfactory  work. 


IX 
Serton  anD  ©tber  troubles 

Heat  and  ventilation, 

Dust  and  drafts  and  light, 

Call  for  much  attention, 
To  keep  things  going  right. 

|TTO  SCHMIDT  was  a  good  sex- 
ton. He  was  conscientious,  punc- 
tual, trustworthy,  and  had  almost 
an  abnormal  dislike  for  dirt.  Mrs.  Dolittle, 
who  before  sitting  down  always  drew  her 
hand  carefully  across  the  back  of  her  pew 
to  see  how  much  dust  was  there,  was  heard 
98 


Scrton  anfc  ©tber  troubles 

to  remark :  "  Well,  I  am  thankful  the  trus- 
tees have  at  last  found  a  janitor  who  knows 
his  business."  But  we  did  have  a  time  of 
it  before  we  got  Otto  Schmidt;  and  as  we 
shall  see,  our  troubles  did  not  all  end  with 
his  coming. 

For  two  or  three  years  Samuel  Noakes 
had  been  our  sexton.  But  poor  Sam  had 
many  faults,  and  I  suspect  had  some  trials 
too.  When  Mr.  Murray  became  our  pas- 
tor, Sam  said  to  him — so  the  pastor  told  me 
some  time  afterward:  "  I'm  sorry  for  you. 
You've  tackled  a  hard  job.  They're  a  lot 
of  faultfinders.  You'll  have  your  hands 
full  to  get  along  with  them."  I  fear  Sam 
had  not  seen  the  best  side  of  the  members 
of  the  church.  Perhaps  janitors  are 
generally  unfortunate  in  this  respect. 

We  used  soft  coal  in  our  church  furnaces 
at  this  time.  One  of  our  members  was 
interested  in  the  coal  business,  and  we 
bought  our  coal  of  him  at  a  reduced 
figure.  But  some  thought,  considering  the 
grade  of  the  coal,  that  we  did  not  save 
very  much.  There  are  those,  however,  who 
are  always  ready  to  find  fault.  But  I  have 
referred  to  the  coal  because  there  seemed 
to  be  a  particular  affinity  between  coal-dust 
and  Sam's  hands  and  face  and  clothing. 
99 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  3Liberts\nUe 

In  one  of  the  women's  meetings  Mrs. 
Sowerby  said :  "  If  the  trustees  persist  in 
keeping  Sam  Noakes  as  janitor,  I  am  in 
favor  of  asking  them  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  see  that  he  is  washed  at  least  once 
a  month.  It  is  my  humble  opinion  that  a 
lot  of  men  are  not  fit  to  look  after  the 
church  building." 

"  Yes,"  added  Mrs.  Smith,  "  it  might  be 
well  to  ask  them  at  the  same  time  to  plan 
to  have  the  church  dusted  once  or  twice  a 
year.  Everything  is  getting  so  dirty  about 
the  building  that  we  shall  never  be  able 
to  get  it  clean  again.  I  met  Mrs.  Richards 
last  week  and  asked  her  why  they  did  not 
come  to  church  any  more,  and  she  replied, 
'  We  cannot  afford  it ;  it  spoils  too  many 
good  clothes.' " 

"  And  it  seems  to  me,"  suggested  Mrs. 
Payne,  "  that  something  ought  to  be  done 
about  ventilation  and  heat  once  in  a  while. 
Jeremiah  is  sick  with  a  cold  half  the  time, 
just  because  of  the  drafts  and  the  cold  of 
this  old  church.  A  ten-year-old  boy  would 
have  more  sense  than  Sam  Noakes  has 
about  opening  windows  and  regulating  the 
heat." 

Mrs.  Straight  now  spoke :  "  There  is  no 
use  finding  fault  with  the  trustees.  They 
100 


Gbe  Sexton  and  Otbcr  troubles 

have  no  money  to  hire  a  first-class  janitor, 
and  are  compelled  to  do  the  best  they  can. 
Mr.  Straight  said  they  would  be  glad  to  se- 
cure a  better  one  if  they  could  afford  it,  but 
that  they  find  it  difficult  to  get  money 
enough  to  pay  Mr.  Noakes." 

"  I  should  think  they  would,"  replied  Mrs. 
Sowerby.  "  It  is  worse  than  wasting  money 
to  pay  it  for  such  a  janitor.  We  would  be 
better  off  with  none  at  all." 

"  That  brings  up  an  idea  which  has  been 
in  my  mind  for  some  time,"  interposed 
Mrs.  Raymond.  "  Over  at  Plainview,  where 
my  daughter  Maria  is  a  member,  the  women 
are  taking  care  of  the  church  building  and 
the  trustees  pay  them,  and  the  money  goes 
into  the  treasury  of  the  aid  society.  They 
hire  a  man  to  look  after  the  fires  and  they 
do  all  the  rest.  They  have  divided  up  into 
companies  of  ten  each,  with  a  captain  for 
every  company,  and  then  take  turns  doing 
the  work." 

"  That  plan  might  do  all  right,"  said  Mrs. 
Jordon,  "  in  a  little  country  town,  but  I 
am  afraid  it  would  not  work  here  in 
Libertyville." 

But  most  of  the  ladies  were  heartily  in 
favor  of  trying  it;  and  after  a  full  dis- 
cussion the  plan  was  adopted,  and  later 
101 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

was,  with  some  hesitation,  approved  by  the 
trustees. 

Although  the  ladies  had  unanimously 
voted  to  go  into  the  undertaking,  some  dif- 
ficulty was  experienced  in  securing  volun- 
teers for  the  different  tens.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  marked  willingness  on  the  part  of 
many  to  let  others  do  the  work.  Some 
who  heartily  approved  the  plan  said  that 
they  would  be  very  glad  to  help,  but  they 
really  had  more  on  hand  already  than  they 
could  do.  The  real  trouble,  however,  came 
in  securing  captains  for  the  tens.  But 
finally,  several  women  who  always  bore  the 
brunt  where  there  were  hard  tasks  to  be 
done  consented  to  serve,  and  the  new  order 
of  things  was  duly  inaugurated. 

For  a  number  of  weeks  everything  seemed 
to  work  all  right,  although  I  heard  Mrs. 
Bradley  remark  several  times :  "  I  am  al- 
most worn  out  helping  to  get  that  old 
church  cleaned  up."  And  Mrs.  Sharp  de- 
clared :  "  That  man  Noakes  ought  to  be  in 
the  penitentiary  for  getting  money  under 
false  pretenses  while  he  was  janitor  of  this 
church." 

At  one  of  our  deacons'  meetings  Charley 
Goodwill  laughingly  remarked :  "  My  wife 
is  at  the  church  so  much  these  days  that 
1 02 


Cbc  Scrton  and  Otbct  troubles 

we  are  talking  of  breaking  up  housekeeping, 
so  that  she  can  have  more  time  for  her 
new  duties." 

"  We  are  already  broken  up  at  our 
house,"  replied  Deacon  Smith,  "  and  I  for 
one  will  be  glad  when  this  foolishness  is 
over.  I  am  willing  to  increase  my  subscrip- 
tion to  the  church  if  Mrs.  Smith  can  be 
relieved.  We  shall  have  to  pay  more  than 
the  salary  of  a  good  sexton  in  doctors'  bills 
if  this  thing  goes  on  much  longer." 

But  soon  trouble  began  to  develop  among 
the  women.  The  working  force  in  each 
company  grew  less,  until  a  few  women  were 
doing  all  the  work.  Of  course  each  one 
thought  that  all  the  others  would  be  on 
hand,  and  she  could  drop  out  without  be- 
ing missed,  and  as  other  matters  were  press- 
ing, the  church  work  was  neglected.  At 
the  woman's  meeting,  where  this  matter  was 
the  subject  of  endless  discussion,  Mrs. 
Sharp,  becoming  somewhat  irritated,  said: 
"  I  have  as  much  respect  for  Sam  Noakes 
as  I  have  for  those  women  who  voted  so 
promptly  to  go  into  this  thing  and  are  now 
shirking  their  duties  and  allowing  a  few 
to  do  all  the  work.  I  am  in  favor  of  throw- 
ing it  all  up  and  of  telling  the  trustees  to 
get  Noakes  again  if  they  want  to." 
103 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xibettgville 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Jordan,  "  I  don't  scrub 
my  own  house,  and  I  am  not  going  to  be 
scrubwoman  for  the  church." 

"What  made  you  vote  for  it,  then?" 
replied  Mrs.  Sharp. 

"  I  didn't  vote  to  do  it  myself,  but  to 
let  those  do  it  who  wanted  to,"  was  Mrs. 
Jordan's  reply. 

"  It  looks  as  though  a  good  many  did 
the  same  kind  of  benevolent  voting,"  added 
Mrs.  Sharp. 

The  result  was  that  at  the  end  of  three 
months  this  plan  was  abandoned,  and  the 
trustees  found  no  trouble  to  raise  sufficient 
money  to  secure  a  first-class  sexton,  and 
Otto  Schmidt,  to  whom  reference  has 
already  been  made,  was  engaged. 

He  was  proud-spirited,  quick-tempered, 
and  resented  anything  that  looked  like  or- 
dering him  around.  His  wife,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  church,  was  exceedingly 
sensitive,  and  was  constantly  looking  for 
slights  because  she  was  the  janitor's  wife. 
And  I  must  confess  that  I  fear  some  of 
the  ladies  were  not  so  careful  as  they  might 
have  been.  His  wife's  feelings  did  not 
contribute  at  all  to  Otto's  peace  of  mind. 

One  evening  after  an  all-day's  meeting 
of  the  women's  society  I  dropped  in  at 
104 


Serton  anO  ©tber  troubles 

the  church  and  found  him  in  a  great  state 
of  excitement.  He  began  at  once :  "  Mr. 
Bradley,  I  vants  to  know  who  vas  mine 
boss.  Dese  vomens  makes  me  crazy.  Von 
say  do  dis,  anoder  say  do  dat,  und  dey 
sends  me  evryvares,  and  tells  me  I  bin 
hired  to  do  everydings.  Some  say  der 
house  bin  too  cold,  some  say  it  vas  too  varm. 
Some  say,  '  Open  die  vindows  ' ;  oders  say, 
'  Vy  you  do  dot  ? '  I  can  no  haf  so  many 
tell  me  vot  I  do.  Und  dey  tells  mine  vife 
she  bin  janitors  too.  If  dot  bin  recht,  den 
I  goes  vay." 

I  told  him  I  would  speak  to  Mr.  Allan, 
the  chairman  of  the  trustees,  and  I  was 
sure  something  would  be  done  about  it. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  trustees  Mr. 
Allan  said :  "  Our  sexton  is  greatly  dis- 
turbed, and  says  he  cannot  continue  to  serve 
us  unless  something  is  done  to  improve  mat- 
ters. He  complains  about  the  juniors  on 
Sunday  afternoon.  After  the  Sunday- 
school  he  arranges  the  rooms  for  the  even- 
ing services,  and  then  they  come  and  romp 
around  and  get  everything  into  disorder 
again.  In  fact,  last  Sunday  matters  were 
so  bad  before  the  leader  came  that  he  caught 
Tom  Dolittle  and  gave  him  a  good  shaking, 
and  now  Mrs.  Dolittle  proposes  to  leave 

105 


Cburcb  at 

the  church  unless  we  discharge  Mr.  Schmidt 
at  once.  Then  too,  he  says  the  young  people 
hold  their  socials  so  late  that  he  cannot  get 
home  till  after  midnight,  and  that  they 
scatter  paper  and  food  all  about  the  church 
parlors.  But  his  chief  complaint  is  against 
the  women.  They  greatly  worry  him  with 
all  sorts  of  demands  upon  him  and  upon 
his  wife;  and  some  of  them  order  him  to 
do  things  in  a  way  that  stirs  his  German 
blood.  He  is  a  very  capable  sexton,  and 
we  ought  not  to  let  him  go  if  we  can 
help  it." 

Mr.  Sowerby,  whose  home  trials  were 
generally  known,  said :  "  The  janitor  has 
my  sympathy.  I  have  enough  to  do  to  get 
along  with  one  woman.  I  am  not  surprised 
that  he  has  trouble  trying  to  please  so 
many.  I  should  think  after  the  experience 
the  women  have  had  taking  care  of  the 
church  they  would  be  glad  to  let  the  whole 
business  alone  for  a  while." 

The  next  to  speak  was  Mr.  Banks :  "  I 
have  been  much  disturbed  at  the  way  the 
juniors  have  been  carrying  on.  I  took  my 
girl  out  of  the  society  some  weeks  ago. 
She  was  getting  a  good  deal  more  harm 
than  good.  Boys  and  girls  do  not  seem  to 
have  the  respect  for  the  house  of  God  which 
106 


Sbe  Serton  anD  ®tber  (Troubles 

they  had  years  ago.  I  am  profoundly  thank- 
ful that  the  sexton  gave  Tom  Dolittle  what 
he  deserved,  and  wish  he  had  shaken  sev- 
eral others.  I  am  in  favor  of  having  him 
appointed  as  a  special  policeman  and  in- 
structed to  keep  order  in  and  around  that 
building  at  any  cost." 

"  It  is  possible,"  replied  Mr.  Allan,  "  that 
the  fault  is  as  much  our  own  as  it  is  that  of 
the  boys  and  girls,  or  of  any  one  else.  As 
trustees  I  fear  we  have  not  looked  carefully 
enough  after  these  things.  The  church 
building  is  for  use  and  the  various  societies 
of  the  church  should  be  encouraged  to 
use  it." 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  their  using  it,"  in- 
terrupted Mr.  Banks,  "  if  they  will  use  it 
properly.  But  they  must  not  worry  the 
life  out  of  the  janitor,  and  they  must  not 
make  it  a  place  for  romping  and  midnight 
socials.  I  am  in  favor  of  not  allowing  any 
society  to  hold  any  meeting  or  social  in  the 
building  without  a  written  permit  from  the 
trustees." 

"  What  I  was  about  to  propose,"  went  on 
Mr.  Allan,  "  was  this :  let  us  appoint  Mr. 
Church  as  custodian  of  the  building,  with 
the  understanding  that  the  sexton  is  to 
look  to  him  and  to  no  one  else  for  orders, 
107 


Cbc  Cburcb  at 

and  that  he  as  custodian  is  to  have  an 
oversight  of  all  the  gatherings  held  in  the 
building." 

"  Well,"  added  Mr.  Banks,  "  if  Brother 
Church  wants  a  job  of  that  kind,  I  am 
willing.  I  am  sure  I  don't  want  it." 

Mr.  Church  was  a  firm,  wide-awake, 
quiet,  tactful  man,  whom  everybody  re- 
spected, and  who  was  greatly  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  the  church. 

He  was  duly  appointed,  and  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract  from  his  first  report :  "  I 
have  found  my  work  as  custodian  of  the 
church  building,  not  so  difficult  as  some 
of  my  friends  or  as  I  myself  feared  it 
might  be.  The  ladies  have  expressed  to 
me  their  satisfaction  that  one  person  has 
been  placed  in  charge  of  the  building,  and 
with  one  or  two  unimportant  exceptions, 
have  promptly  referred  all  matters  to  me. 
They  have  been  specially  gratified  to  find 
that  the  sexton  does  cheerfully,  under  my 
instructions,  many  things  which  he  was  un- 
willing to  do  before.  He  seems  much  hap- 
pier in  his  work,  and  of  his  own  accord 
apologized  to  Mr.  Dolittle  for  his  treatment 
of  Tom. 

"  The  juniors  are  coming  on  all  right. 
A  conference  with  the  leader  enabled  us  to 
108 


Contrary 

adopt  measures  by  which  practically  all 
disorder  has  been  overcome.  And  so  I  think 
that,  with  patience  and  constant  watchful- 
ness all  these  matters  are  going  to  work  out 
satisfactorily." 

"  That  is  encouraging,"  said  Mr.  Banks, 
"  and  I  am  in  favor  of  giving  Brother 
Church  a  vote  of  thanks." 

"  I  deserve  no  vote  of  thanks,"  replied 
Mr.  Church.  "  My  duties  are  very  simple 
and  easy.  If  any  vote  of  thanks  is  called 
for,  let  it  be  given  to  Mr.  Allan  for  sug- 
gesting a  practical  plan  for  looking  after 
our  church  building." 


Contrary  mtn00 

There  are  good  folks  who  ne'er  fail, 
When  there's  a  question  to  decide, 

To  wait  and  see  what  others  do, 
Then  take  the  other  side. 

RECALL    an    old   pastor    in    the 
place    where    I    first    joined    the 


ran  MUMJ  piace  wnere  i  nrsi  jomeu  me 
[•raPM]  church,  who  had  a  somewhat  sig- 
nificant way  of  putting  a  motion  in  the  busi- 
ness meetings.  After  stating  the  question 
109 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xibertsvtlle 

with  great  deliberation  he  would  say: 
»  "  All  who  are  in  favor  of  this  motion  will 
raise  the  right  hand."  Then  he  would 
add,  "  Now  all  those  who  have  contrary 
minds  will  give  the  same  sign." 

Deacon  Jacob  Black  was  a  man  with  a 
contrary  mind.  Personally,  I  was  not  in 
favor  of  electing  him  to  succeed  Deacon 
Eager.  But  it  was  at  a  time  when  it  was 
difficult  to  get  persons  to  serve  in  the  vari- 
ous offices  of  the  church,  and  I  learned 
that  the  nominating  committee,  after  try- 
ing in  vain  every  available  man  in  the 
church,  selected  him  as  a  last  resort;  and 
Brother  Jones,  who  served  on  the  com- 
mittee, told  me  that  he  thought  he  would 
not  have  accepted  the  nomination  if  his  wife 
had  not  told  him  that  he  was  not  fit  to  be 
a  deacon,  and  that  she  was  sure  few  in  the 
church  wanted  him,  and  that  the  committee 
would  not  have  come  to  him  if  they  could 
have  found  any  one  else  who  would  have 
taken  it.  "  That  settled  it  at  once,"  Brother 
Jones  declared,  "  and  he  promptly  accepted 
the  nomination." 

Perhaps    I   ought   not   to   say   anything 

about  his  wife,  but  speaking  of  her  reminds 

me  that  it  was  currently  reported  that  she 

was  so  homely  and  ill-natured,  as  a  girl, 

no 


Contrary 

that  nobody  else  seemed  to  want  anything 
to  do  with  her,  and  he  married  her  just  to 
be  contrary.  He  seemed  to  be  reasonably 
happy  with  her,  as  she  furnished  him  abun- 
dant opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  his 
contrariness.  He  was  entirely  independent 
in  politics,  and  was  always  training  with 
some  insignificant  party,  which  was  opposed 
to  pretty  much  everything  and  never  elected 
anybody.  He  was  bald,  and  his  head  thus 
exposed,  was  seen  to  slope  up  to  a  central 
ridge  which  was  more  or  less  undulating. 
His  chin  was  protruding,  and  at  the  point 
was  covered  with  a  thin  tuft  of  grizzly 
whiskers.  He  was  not  contrary  from  mean- 
ness, but  from  a  natural  constitutional 
bent.  He  never  got  angry,  and  often,  I 
think,  would  have  been  disappointed  if  his 
opposition  had  defeated  a  measure. 

Shortly  after  he  became  deacon  the  ques- 
tion of  collection  plates  came  up.  We  for- 
merly used  a  collection  box  with  a  short 
handle,  but  people  complained  that  the  boxes 
were  noisy  and  the  handles  too  short.  Then 
we  got  collection  bags  attached  to  long 
handles,  resembling  appliances  for  catching 
butterflies  and  grasshoppers.  Deacon  Per- 
kins had  been  in  Chicago  on  a  visit,  and 
had  been  noting  how  collections  were  taken 
in 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  libertgville 

there.  He  said,  "  At  the  church  which  I 
attended  while  in  Chicago  they  used  plates 
for  their  collections.  These  were  passed 
from  one  to  another  the  entire  length  of 
each  pew,  and  I  was  greatly  delighted  with 
the  order  and  the  importance  attaching  to 
this  part  of  the  service.  Somehow  the  tak- 
ing hold  of  the  plate  seemed  to  make  the 
people  feel  more  their  individual  responsi- 
bility. I  learned  from  the  treasurer  that 
the  use  of  plates  added  materially  to  the 
amount  of  the  collections.  I  make  a  motion 
that  we  recommend  to  the  church  the  pro- 
curing of  collection  plates  to  be  used 
hereafter." 

Charley  Goodwill  immediately  seconded 
the  motion,  when  Deacon  Black  spoke  up: 
"  I  do  not  want  to  oppose  any  measure  that 
may  seem  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
church,  but  I  shall  be  compelled  to  vote 
against  this  motion.  It  is,  in  my  judgment, 
a  movement  to  cultivate  vanity  and  display 
in  giving.  It  is  a  cunningly  devised  scheme 
to  enable  those  who  give  to  be  seen  of 
men." 

Deacon  Stearns  added :  "  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  force  in  what  Brother  Black  says. 
Our  Lord  said,  '  Let  not  your  right  hand 
know  what  your  left  hand  doeth.'  I  think 

112 


Contrary  fllin&s 

the  old  collection  bag  is  admirably  suited  to 
the  carrying  out  of  that  command." 

"  Yes,"  said  Deacon  Smith,  "  I  am  re- 
minded of  what  Mrs.  Smith  saw  a  Sunday 
or  two  ago.  She  said  she  did  not  intend 
to  watch  what  other  people  were  doing,  but 
her  attention  was  arrested  by  the  conduct 
of  a  person  just  in  front  of  her,  and  with- 
out thinking  she  watched  him.  He  looked 
in  his  pocketbook  for  a  coin  small  enough 
for  the  collection,  but  failing  to  find  it,  put 
his  pocketbook  back.  He  then  closed  his 
hand,  as  if  he  had  something  in  it,  and 
when  the  collection-bag  came  along  he  went 
through  the  motion  of  giving.  Of  course 
I  know  such  cases  are  few,  but  any  kind 
of  a  public  collection  is  subject  to  abuse." 

"  Right  there  is  the  trouble,"  said  Deacon 
Black.  "  I  am  opposed  to  all  public  collec- 
tions. I  am  in  favor  of  having  a  box  in 
the  vestibule,  as  they  had  in  the  old  temple." 

"  I  have  always  been  in  favor  of  that 
myself,"  responded  Deacon  Stearns. 

"  But  you  remember,"  added  Deacon  Per- 
kins, "  that  when  Jesus  sat  over  against  the 
treasury,  or  the  old  collection  box,  he  saw 
how  much  each  one  gave,  even  to  the 
widow's  two  mites.  That  arrangement 
would  not  help  matters." 
H  113 


ttbe  Cburcb  at 

"Well,"  Deacon  Black  said,  "we  make 
altogether  too  much  of  this  matter  of  giv- 
ing; I  am  in  favor  of  greatly  simplifying 
the  whole  business  and  of  putting  it  more  in 
the  background." 

"  I  have  often  felt  the  same  way  myself," 
was  Deacon  Stearns'  response. 

This  constant  agreement  with  him  by 
Deacon  Stearns  seemed  to  disconcert  Dea- 
con Black,  and  he  had  nothing  more  to  say, 
and  when  the  vote  was  taken  refused  to 
vote,  evidently  fearing  Deacon  Stearns 
would  vote  as  he  did. 

But  we  did  have  a  time  of  it  when  the 
question  of  individual  communion  cups 
came  up. 

Mrs.  Richards,  a  wealthy  widow  from 
the  East,  had  come  to  make  her  home 
among  us,  and  had  entered  actively  (some 
thought  a  little  officiously)  into  the  work 
of  the  church.  She  often  spoke  of  the  fact 
that  in  the  church  in  Boston  from  which 
she  came  individual  communion  cups  were 
used,  and  she  had  a  good  deal  to  say  about 
the  uncleanliness  of  all  drinking  from  the 
same  cup,  and  also  of  the  danger  from 
microbes. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  women's 
114 


Contrary  flltnfca 

society  she  proposed  that  the  women  raise 
money  and  donate  an  individual  communion 
set  to  the  church. 

Mrs.  Blunt,  who  took  pride  in  "  talking 
right  out,"  replied:  "This  society  is  not 
organized  to  promote  Boston  fads,  nor  as 
an  anti-microbe  institution,  but  to  help  on 
the  missionary  work  of  the  kingdom." 

Others  vigorously  opposed  the  measure, 
and  it  was  dropped.  Then  Mrs.  Richards 
sent  a  letter  to  the  deacons,  stating  that  she 
would  be  glad  to  donate  an  individual  com- 
munion set  to  the  church,  and  hoped  that 
the  deacons  would  approve,  and  report  the 
matter  favorably  to  the  church.  As  secre- 
tary of  the  board,  I  read  the  letter.  It  came 
as  a  great  surprise  to  all.  Few  had  given 
the  matter  any  thought,  and  I  could  see  that 
the  propositon  was  not  favorably  received. 

Charley  Goodwill  was  the  first  to  speak: 
"  I  am  not  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  that 
such  a  move  is  desirable.  It  may  be  all 
right,  but  I  want  to  think  over  it  awhile." 

Deacon  Perkins  added :  "  I  suppose  Mrs. 
Richards  is  a  good  woman,  but  I  don't  quite 
relish  her  attempt  to  foist  Eastern  notions 
upon  us.  We  are  not  wholly  benighted 
out  here  in  the  uncultured  West.  I  guess 
we  can  defy  the  microbes  a  little  longer." 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at  ILtbertxjvillc 

By  this  time  Deacon  Black  saw  which 
way  the  current  was  going,  and  he  spoke: 
"  Well,  brethren,  I  don't  want  to  oppose 
you,  but  I  am  in  favor  of  accepting  this 
generous  offer.  Before  I  was  made  deacon 
I  sat  in  the  pew  just  behind  old  Gorman, 
the  worst  tobacco  chewer  I  ever  saw,  and 
Mrs.  Thornton,  who  is  slowly  dying  of 
consumption,  and  I  confess  that  I  never 
enjoyed  taking  the  cup  after  it  had  been 
passed  to  them." 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  tobacco  or  con- 
sumption," said  Doctor  Spear,  "  but  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible,  and  I  for  one  don't 
believe  the  Lord  used  thimbles  when  he 
inaugurated  the  Holy  Supper." 

"  We  use  four  cups  in  our  service,"  re- 
plied Deacon  Black.  "  If  it  is  not  unscrip- 
tural  to  use  four,  why  may  we  not  use 
twenty-four  or  four  hundred  ?  " 

It  must  be  admitted  that  Deacon  Black 
was  a  remarkably  well-informed  man.  His 
very  contrariness  had  stirred  him  up  to 
investigate  all  kinds  of  subjects. 

Deacon  Stearns  now  spoke :  "  I  wonder 
what  will  come  next?  These  are  certainly 
days  of  fads  and  heresies.  I  wonder  some 
one  does  not  propose  that  we  have  indi- 
vidual straws  through  which  to  drink  the 
116 


Contrary 

communion  wine.  They  would  cost  less 
than  these  little,  trifling  cups  and  could  be 
thrown  away  after  being  used.  Then  why 
does  not  some  one  suggest  that  the  bread 
be  put  up  in  medicated  capsules  ?  This  would 
certainly  be  more  hygienic;  and,  of  course, 
pretty  soon  some  one  will  demand  that  we 
have  sterilized  rose-water  for  baptism. 
There  is  absolutely  no  limit  to  this  kind  of 
foolishness,  and  for  one,  it  seems  to  me, 
that  it  is  entirely  out  of  place  for  new  mem- 
bers and  new  deacons  to  undertake  to  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  the  church  with  such 
unscriptural  and  unreasonable  propositions." 

The  situation  was  now  becoming  interest- 
ing to  Brother  Black,  who  replied :  "  If 
some  churches  never  had  any  suggestions 
from  new  members  and  from  new  deacons, 
they  could  take  for  their  motto,  '  As  it  was 
in  the  beginning,  is  now  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end.  Amen ! '  I  for  one  am 
in  favor  of  progress.  The  church  must 
keep  abreast  of  the  times.  Modern  medical 
science  declares  that  for  a  congregation  all 
to  drink  out  of  the  same  cup  is  unsanitary 
and  dangerous.  The  Bible  is  not  against 
good  health  and  common  sense,  and  so  I  am 
in  favor  of  adopting  this  new  departure." 

"  I  would  not  like  to  take  a  stand  against 
117 


Cburcb  at 

this  measure,"  said  Charley  Goodwill.  "  In 
fact,  I  am  quite  impressed  with  Deacon 
Black's  arguments,  but  we  must  think  about 
it  awhile,  and  I  move  you  that  we  thank 
Mrs.  Richards  for  her  generous  offer,  but 
defer  action  for  the  present." 

This  motion  carried,  and  the  matter  was 
not  brought  up  again  while  I  was  there ;  but 
when  I  was  back  last  summer,  and  present 
at  the  communion,  I  was  surprised  to  find 
they  were  using  individual  communion  cups 
and  Deacon  Stearns  was  assisting  in  the 
service. 

When  Rev.  James  Brown  resigned  the 
question  of  suitable  resolutions  to  be  read 
at  his  farewell  reception  came  up  at  our 
deacons'  meeting. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  him  and  the 
trouble  he  got  into  with  the  choir.  This 
was  not  the  only  trouble  he  had.  There 
had  been  a  division  over  him  and  he  had 
been  practically  forced  to  resign.  But  now 
that  he  had  done  so  and  was  soon  to  close 
his  pastorate,  it  seemed  wise  to  many,  es- 
pecially in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  some 
influential  friends,  and  as  custom  seemed  to 
demand  such  action,  that  resolutions  of 
appreciation  be  adopted. 
118 


Contrary 

So  at  this  meeting  Doctor  Spear,  who 
had  been  a  firm  supporter  of  the  pastor, 
said :  "  It  was  suggested  to  me  yesterday 
that  I  come  to  this  meeting  prepared  to  pre- 
sent for  your  consideration  resolutions 
which  should  express  our  high  appreciation 
of  the  work  of  our  beloved  pastor,  who  feels 
called  upon  to  close  his  efficient  labors 
among  us.  This  I  have  cheerfully  done,  and 
shall  be  glad  to  present  for  your  approval 
the  following: 

He  then  produced  and  read  what  he  had 
prepared : 

WHEREAS,  Rev.  James  Brown  has  been,  during 
the  past  eighteen  months,  the  able,  efficient,  fear- 
less, and  uncompromising  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  at  Libertyville,  and 

WHEREAS,  he  has  stood  unflinchingly  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  whether  men 
would  hear  or  whether  they  would  forbear,  and 
has  faithfully  sought  to  purify  the  church  of  all 
formalism  and  worldliness,  and 

WHEREAS,  after  greatly  endearing  himself  to  the 
devout  people  of  Libertyville,  by  his  "  holy  walk 
and  conversation,"  he  sees  the  hand  of  Providence 
leading  him  to  close  his  work  amongst  us, 

Be  it  resolved,  that  his  resignation  has  been  ac- 
cepted with  sincere  regret,  that  we  shall  greatly 
miss  his  faithful  ministry  among  us,  but  will  be 
comforted  by  the  fact  that  our  great  loss  will  be 
the  gain  of  some  other  church,  and  we  shall  expect 
119 


vibe  Cburcb  at  ILtbctt^villc 

that  great  success  will  attend  his  labors  wherever 
he  may  go. 

After  reading  his  resolutions,  Doctor 
Spear  moved  their  adoption  and  some  one 
seconded  the  motion.  The  vote  was  about 
to  be  taken,  the  most  of  the  deacons  regard- 
ing it  as  a  mere  form  and  an  easy  way  out 
of  a  matter  that  had  caused  so  much  trouble, 
but  which  seemed  to  be  rapidly  approaching 
an  amicable  settlement. 

Charley  Goodwill,  who  sat  next  to  me, 
said  in  an  undertone :  "  Those  resolutions 
are  a  little  strong,  and  yet  Brother  Brown 
has  some  good  points,  and  after  all,  resolu- 
tions don't  amount  to  anything  anyhow, 
and  I  guess  this  is  the  best  thing  to  do 
under  the  circumstances." 

At  this  juncture  Deacon  Black  arose  and 
said: 

"  Brethren,  I  always  dislike  to  oppose 
any  measure  which  seems  to  meet  your  ap- 
proval, but  I  am  not  satisfied  with  these 
resolutions.  Of  course  they  will  be  pub- 
lished in  the  local  papers  and  also  in  the 
denominational  papers.  Almost  every  week 
I  read  similar  resolutions  and  wonder,  if 
the  dear  brethren  were  having  such  re- 
markable pastorates,  why  they  should  quit. 
As  every  one  of  us  knows,  these  resolutions 

120 


Contrary  (Hinds 

do  not — well,  to  say  the  least,  do  not  tell 
the  whole  truth.  I  have  prepared  some 
myself,  which  I  would  like  to  read: 

WHEREAS,  Rev.  James  Brown  has  had  a  short, 
turbulent  pastorate  of  a  year  and  a  half  in  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  of  Libertyville,  resulting 
in  serious  division,  marked  loss  of  membership, 
and  reproach  in  the  community,  and 

WHEREAS,  after  repeated  urging  to  resign,  by 
many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  church,  and 
a  feeling  on  the  part  of  all  that  it  would  be  best 
for  him  to  do  so,  he  has  finally  decided  to  close 
his  labor  and  strife  among  us, 

Be  it  resolved,  first,  that  we  are  glad  he  is 
going  away,  and,  second,  that  we  hope  his  experi- 
ence here  has  taught  him  wisdom  and  that  if  he 
should  secure  another  pastorate,  he  will  do  better 
than  he  has  in  Libertyville. 

He  added :  "  I  move  the  adoption  of  these 
resolutions  instead  of  those  presented  by 
Doctor  Spear,"  and  greatly  to  my  surprise, 
Deacon  Stearns  seconded  the  motion.  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  reproduce  the  discussion 
which  followed.  It  was  very  spirited  and, 
I  think,  beneficial.  The  outcome  was  that 
Deacon  Smith  proposed  the  following  form, 
which  was  adopted: 

WHEREAS,  Rev.  James  Brown,  after  being  pas- 
tor for  one  year  and  a  half  of  the  First  Baptist 
121 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  OlfbertsvtHe 

Church,  of  Libertyville,  has  decided  to  close  his 
labors  among  us, 

Resolved,  that  we  hereby  express  our  confidence 
in  his  sincerity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  and,  sec- 
ond, that  we  wish  for  him  a  large  measure  of 
blessing  in  his  future  labors. 

Brother  Brown  was  not  satisfied  with 
these  resolutions,  and  they  were  not 
published  in  the  papers. 


XI 
ContcnOtns  for  tbe  ffattb 

They  think  that  religion  is  mainly  a  creed, 
Perfect,  unchanging,  which  they  must  defend; 

Their  mission  in  life  is  plainly  decreed, 

For  the  faith  of  the  church  they  must  always 
contend. 

BROTHER  ELIHU  YOUNG  had 
been  called  from  the  theological 
seminary  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church  at  Millersburg,  a  little  town  a 
few  miles  up  the  river  from  Libertyville. 
Shortly  after  his  coming  to  the  field  we  re- 
ceived a  letter  requesting  us  to  send  our 
pastor  and  two  other  delegates  to  an  ordi- 
nation council  to  meet  at  Millersburg.  We 
122 


Contending  for  tbe  ffaitb 

always  had  more  or  less  difficulty  in  find- 
ing persons  who  would  serve  as  delegates 
on  councils,  and  at  Associations  and  con- 
ventions. The  representative  men  of  the 
church  were  unwilling  to  take  the  time  from 
their  business ;  hence,  it  usually  came  about, 
after  several  had  been  nominated  and  had 
positively  declined,  that  Deacon  Stearns  and 
Doctor  Spear  were  appointed.  This  was 
done  in  the  present  instance. 

It  so  happened  that  I  had  a  little  business 
in  Millersburg  on  the  day  of  the  ordination, 
and  upon  the  urgent  solicitation  of  Pastor 
Smith,  I  decided  to  drop  into  the  meeting 
of  the  council.  I  concluded  as  I  looked  over 
the  brethren  present,  that  the  other  churches 
must  have  had  trouble  in  securing  delegates 
similar  to  that  of  the  Libertyville  church. 

The  council  was  called  to  order  and  a 
temporary  chairman  appointed,  after  which 
followed  a  futile  effort  to  find  the  clerk  of 
the  Millersburg  church,  in  order  that  he 
might  produce  and  read  the  minutes  of  the 
meeting  of  the  church  at  which  the  call  of 
the  council  was  issued.  But  as  he  could  not 
be  found  it  was  finally  decided  after  an  ex- 
tended discussion  to  accept  the  statement  of 
one  of  the  deacons  as  to  the  fact  and  the 
essential  features  of  the  call. 
123 


Cburcb  at  iibertgvillc 

Deacon  Stickler,  however,  of  Plainview, 
declared :  "  I  am  sure  this  is  irregular  and 
contrary  to  usage  and  I  fear  it  will  in- 
validate our  Brother  Young's  ordination." 

But  the  council  proceeded  to  permanent 
organization,  wasting,  it  seemed  to  .me,  a 
good  deal  of  time  over  unimportant  matters. 

In  one  instance  the  pastor  had  been  au- 
thorized by  his  church  to  appoint  the  other 
two  delegates.  This  he  had  done,  but  Elder 
Spike,  of  Bragville,  declared :  "  No  church 
can  delegate  such  authority.  The  appoint- 
ing of  messengers  is  a  prerogative  vested  in 
the  church  itself,  and  can  no  more  be  dele- 
gated than  can  the  finding  of  a  verdict  be 
delegated  by  a  jury  to  some  individual,"  and 
so  he  went  on  for  half  an  hour.  But  when 
he  was  through  the  council  voted  to  recog- 
nize the  two  delegates.  I  noticed,  however, 
that  Deacons  Stearns  and  Stickler  voted 
with  Elder  Spike. 

It  took  some  time  too,  to  decide  whether 
Brother  Young  should  go  right  through  his 
statement  and  have  questions  at  the  close 
or  whether  he  should  be  questioned  as  he 
proceeded.  The  latter  course  was  finally 
adopted.  With  all  of  these  preliminary  ques- 
tions settled,  the  council  was  at  last  ready 
to  proceed  with  the  examination. 
124 


Contending  for  tbe  ffattb 

Brother  Young  was  formally  introduced 
to  the  council  by  Hon.  Joshua  Grafton,  of 
Millersburg,  in  a  somewhat  pompous  and 
effusive  address,  after  which  he  proceeded 
to  give  his  Christian  experience. 

He  said :  "  I  cannot  recall  a  time  when 
I  was  not  trying  to  lead  a  Christian  life. 
My  parents  were  devout  Christians,  and  the 
first  thing  my  mother  taught  me  was  to 
pray  and  to  endeavor  to  do  what  Jesus 
wanted  me  to  do.  At  eleven  years  of  age 
I  made  a  public  profession  of  my  faith 
and  united  with  the  church."  Here  he 
paused,  and  the  moderator  said :  "  Does  any 
member  of  the  council  desire  to  ask  the  can- 
didate any  questions  in  reference  to  his 
Christian  experience?" 

Elder  Dryden,  from  Plainview,  a  retired 
minister,  slowly  arose,  smoothed  down  the 
long  wisp  of  hair  which  was  carefully 
trained  from  one  side  to  cover  his  bald 
head,  cleared  his  throat,  looked  around  over 
the  council,  as  though  burdened  with  a  great 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  then  said :  "  Mr. 
Moderator,  I  do  not  desire  to  seem  to  ques- 
tion the  young  brother's  Christian  experi- 
ence, but  I  look  back  a  good  many  years  to 
my  own  conversion  and  to  the  mighty  mov- 
ings  of  the  Spirit  which  I  have  seen  in 
125 


Cburcb  at 

my  ministry."  (It  was  a  well-known  fact 
that  his  ministry  had  been  a  conspicuous 
failure,  but  he  had  forgotten  it.)  "  I  say, 
when  I  remember  these  things,  I  am  not 
entirely  satisfied  with  the  brother's  experi- 
ence, and  would  like  to  ask  him  if  there 
was  never  a  time  when  he  was  profoundly 
convicted  and  saw  himself  a  lost  sinner  and 
when  he  turned  to  God  with  groanings  that 
could  not  be  uttered?  " 

Here  Deacon  Stearns  interrupted :  "  That 
is  just  the  question  I  wanted  to  ask.  What 
we  need  to-day  is  some  old-time  conversions. 
I  shall  never  forget  how  the  Lord  laid 
hold  of  me  with  a  mighty  hand  and  an 
outstretched  arm." 

"  But,"  interposed  Rev.  Dr.  Wayte,  pas- 
tor from  Morning  Side,  "  the  brethren  must 
remember  that  there  is  a  great  variety  of 
experiences.  I  never  passed  through  any 
of  these  mighty  upheavals  and  over- 
turnings,  and  yet  I  am  sure  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian. David  seems  to  sum  up  his  experience 
in  a  very  few  words  when  he  says,  '  I 
thought  on  my  ways,  I  turned  my  feet  unto 
thy  testimonies,  I  made  haste  and  delayed 
not  to  keep  thy  commandments.'  I  move 
you  that  the  brother  proceed  with  his  call 
to  the  ministry." 

126 


Contending  for  tbe  ffaitb 

"  If  there  is  no  objection,"  said  the  mod- 
erator, ''  Brother  Young  will  proceed. 

I  expected  there  would  be  objection,  but 
it  seemed  that  Elder  Dryden  did  not  care 
to  oppose  so  important  a  person  as  Doctor 
Wayte,  and  so  Mr.  Young  went  on. 

Mr.  Young  told  how,  during  his  college 
course,  while  he  was  trying  to  decide  what 
his  life-work  should  be,  he  had  had  a  deep- 
ening conviction  that  he  ought  to  enter  the 
ministry.  At  the  same  time  several  of  his 
friends  had  suggested  the  same  thing  to 
him,  and  finally,  after  earnest  prayer  and  a 
careful  consideration  of  the  work  and  his 
adaptability  to  it,  he  had  concluded  that  the 
Lord  wanted  him  to  preach.  He  had  often 
felt  unworthy  for  such  a  service,  and  yet 
he  was  very  desirous  of  going  ahead. 

When  he  had  finished,  Dr.  Jabez  Spear 
arose.  "  Mr.  Moderator,"  he  said,  "  I 
greatly  hesitate  to  speak,  and  yet  I  have 
a  profound  conviction  that  there  is  danger 
to-day  that  men  shall  choose  the  ministry 
instead  of  having  God  choose  them.  I 
would  like  to  know  if  our  young  brother 
has  a  great  burden  on  his  heart  for  lost 
souls,  and  if  he  can  join  with  Paul  in  say- 
ing, '  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel.' 
I  believe  that  when  a  man  is  called  of  God 
127 


3be  Cburcb  at  Utbertyvillc 

he  does  not  take  counsel  of  his  friends,  nor 
study  his  adaptability.  He  knows  he  is 
called.  I  shall  never  forget  how  like  a 
voice  from  heaven  I  heard  the  call  of  God 
taking  me  from  the  vanity  of  the  world  into 
the  high  office  of  the  gospel  ministry." 

"  I  would  like  to  ask  Brother  Spear — I 
mean  Doctor  Spear,"  said  Deacon  Barker, 
from  Plainview,  "  why  he  did  not  stay  in 
the  ministry  if  he  had  such  a  call.'" 

"  Sometimes  the  Lord  calls  a  man  out 
of  the  ministry  as  well  as  into  it,"  replied 
the  doctor. 

"  That's  so,"  replied  Deacon  Barker,  "  and 
I  wish  some  others  would  hear  the  call  out." 
All  knew  that  he  was  trying  to  get  rid  of 
his  pastor. 

"  If  there  are  no  further  remarks,"  re- 
plied the  moderator,  "  the  candidate  will 
now  proceed  to  state  his  views  of  Christian 
doctrine." 

This  he  did  in  what  seemed  to  be  a  clear 
and  common-sense  way.  I,  of  course,  can- 
not remember  all  the  discussion  that  fol- 
lowed. It  was  all  new  to  me,  as  I  had  never 
before  been  at  such  a  gathering,  and  being 
a  humble  layman  in  the  church,  do  not 
feel  myself  competent  to  criticize  the  pro- 
ceedings of  such  experienced  and  learned 
128 


Contending  for  tbe  Jfattb 

brethren  as  constituted  this  council.  It  did 
appear  to  me,  however,  that  much  time  was 
wasted  upon  unimportant  questions  and 
upon  questions  which  no  one  can  answer. 
It  also  occurred  to  me  that  some  of  the 
brethren  were  more  anxious  to  express  their 
own  views  than  they  were  to  find  out  what 
Brother  Young  believed.  In  fact,  in  the 
discussion  which  arose  among  the  members 
of  the  council  he  was  sometimes  entirely 
forgotten. 

I  recall  distinctly  some  of  the  questions 
that  were  asked.  Mr.  Calvin  Pierce,  a 
small,  sharp-faced,  bristle-haired  storekeeper 
from  Marshall,  who  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  champion  checker  player  and  a 
great  arguer  upon  politics  and  religion, 
said :  "  Mr.  Moderator,  I  would  like  to  ask 
the  young  brother  a  question." 

He  had  a  high-pitched,  irritating  voice, 
that  invited  opposition.  He  went  on :  "I 
am  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the  candidate's 
statement  of  the  important  relation  existing 
between  faith  and  regeneration.  I  wish  he 
would  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  us  which,  in 
his  opinion,  comes  first,  the  regenerating 
work  of  the  Spirit  or  the  faith  of  the  in- 
dividual. I  regard  this  as  a  matter  so 
fundamental  and  far-reaching  that  no  man 
i  129 


<Tbe  Cbutcb  at  Xibert^vtlle 

is  prepared  to  preach  the  gospel  who  does 
not  have  full  assurance  at  this  point.  We 
must  be  careful  not  to  detract  from  the 
glory  of  God  in  his  sovereign  electing  grace 
by  putting  faith,  the  work  of  man,  before 
the  beginning  of  the  new  life  in  the  soul. 
Faith  is  a  work  acceptable  to  God,  and  how 
can  such  a  work  come  out  of  the  natural 
and  sinful  heart?  I  trust  our  brother  has 
clear  ideas  upon  this  vital  subject  and  will 
state  them  to  the  council." 

"  But,  Brother  Pierce,"  said  Elder  Free, 
a  retired  minister  from  Yorktown,  "  the 
Bible  says,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,'  but  if  a 
man  is  elected  and  saved  before  he  believes, 
I  don't  see  the  need  of  believing  at  all. 
I  have  always  held  and  preached  that 
believing  comes  first." 

Doctor  Wayte  now  spoke :  "  The  difficulty 
arises,  brethren,  from  the  fact  that  things 
may  be  logically  successive,  which  are  con- 
temporaneous as  to  time.  Is  not  that  your 
idea,  Brother  Young  ?  " 

"  My  idea  is,"  he  replied,  "  that  I  am 
to  urge  men  everywhere  to  believe  in  Christ, 
and  leave  the  work  of  regeneration  to 
God." 

"I  still  insist,"  said  Mr.  Pierce,  "that 
130 


Contending  for  tbc  jfattb 

confusion  of  mind  upon  this  point  or  an  in- 
version of  the  divine  order  is  a  matter  of 
grave  importance,  and  I  shall  hope  that 
when  our  young  brother  has  given  more 
thought  and  study  to  these  things  that  he 
will  come  forth  into  the  clear  light  of 
unmistakable  truth." 

Now  Deacon  Stearns  spoke :  "  Did  I  un- 
derstand the  brother  to  state  that  some  por- 
tions of  the  Bible  are  more  important  than 
others?  I  was  afraid,  from  what  I  under- 
stood him  to  say,  that  he  does  not  believe 
that  the  Bible  is  wholly  inspired,  and  that 
every  word  is  the  veritable  and  exact  word 
of  God.  My  belief  is  that  some  of  our 
seminaries  at  the  present  time  are  destroy- 
ing faith  in  the  old  book  and  sending  young 
men  to  preach  who  have  no  message.  As 
for  me,  I  accept  every  word  of  the  Bible 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  as  dictated  to 
holy  men  of  old,  who  wrote  down  every 
word  as  it  was  given  to  them.  I  regard 
higher  criticism  as  a  device  of  Satan  to 
undermine  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  I  sincerely  trust  our  young  brother 
is  not  tinctured  with  this  root  of  all  evil." 

Rev.  John  Briggs,  a  young  man  who  had 
recently  taken  charge  of  the  church  at 
Yorktown,  now  arose.  His  bearing  was 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at 

that  of  a  person  peculiarly  satisfied  with 
himself.  He  gently  stroked  his  beautiful 
mustache,  turned  a  pitying  look  upon  Dea- 
con Stearns,  and  said :  "  I  am  surprised  that 
in  this  day  of  progressive  thought  any  one 
should  advocate  the  long  discarded  and 
preposterous  theory  of  verbal  inspiration. 
No  theologian  of  any  standing  in  this  coun- 
try, or  in  Germany,  now  holds  it.  In  the 
light  of  the  new  thought,  and  by  the  em- 
ployment of  scientific  methods  in  biblical 
study,  we  have  learned  that  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  almost  entirely  tradition,  legend, 
and  myth,  and  that  not  a  little  of  the  New 
Testament  is  untrue  as  history  and  unre- 
liable as  doctrine.  The  great  work  of  mod- 
ern critical  scholarship  is  to  separate  the 
chaff  from  the  wheat.  I  object  to  having 
our  time  consumed  upon  this  occasion  by 
discussions  on  the  part  of  brethren  who 
mean  well  but  who  are  entirely  out  of 
touch  with  advanced  thought." 

Doctor  Spear,  trembling  with  excitement, 
was  about  to  speak,  when  Brother  Young 
said :  "  I  regard  this  question  as  one  of  great 
importance,  and  beg  leave  to  restate  my 
views.  I  believe  that  the  Bible  is  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  case  such  a  revelation 
132 


Contending  tor  tbe  ffattb 

must  be  progressive.  God  is  limited  in 
making  a  revelation  by  man's  capacity  to  re- 
ceive it.  So  that  the  Old  Testament  is 
necessarily  a  partial,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
an  imperfect  revelation,  and  hence  of  much 
less  value  to  us  than  the  larger  revelation 
found  in  Christ  and  in  the  New  Testament. 
As  I  trace  the  unfoldings  of  the  great 
truths  of  the  Bible,  I  find  but  little  trouble 
with  minor  details,  and  the  Bible  becomes 
filled  with  beauty  and  power  for  me." 

Much  more  discussion  followed,  until  at 
length  this  matter  was  dropped,  Doctor 
Spear  saying,  "  I  am  not  entirely  satisfied 
with  the  position  of  our  young  brother,  but 
am  thankful  that  he  does  not  indorse  the  in- 
fidel and  atheistic  views  of  some  who  claim 
to  be  preachers  of  the  gospel."  And  as  he 
said  this  he  looked  at  Rev.  John  Briggs, 
who  quietly  stroked  his  mustache,  while  on 
his  face  there  was  a  mingled  expression 
of  conceit,  pity,  and  contempt. 

Brother  Calvin  Pierce  again  spoke: 
"  There  is  one  more  question  which  I  would 
like  to  ask  the  candidate  if  I  am  not  con- 
suming too  much  time.  The  question  which 
I  have  in  my  mind,  and  which  I  would  like 
to  propound,  is  this :  Who  were  the  spirits  in 
prison  to  whom  Christ  is  said  to  have 
133 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xlbertgvllle 

preached?  I  regard  this  question  as  one 
of  very  great  importance,  as  opening  up 
the  whole  subject  of  purgatory,  future  pun- 
ishment, and  after-death  repentance.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  most  subtle,  dangerous, 
and  terrible  heresy  of  modern  times  is  that 
some  may  have  a  chance  to  be  saved  after 
death,  and  I  am  greatly  pained  to  note  that 
this  simple  and  lucid  statement  of  Peter 
has  been  warped  by  some  to  sustain  their 
own  pernicious  imaginings.  Will  our 
brother  kindly  tell  us  who  these  spirits  in 
prison  were,  and  when  this  preaching  to 
them  was  done  ?  " 

Brother  Young  hesitated  a  moment  and 
then  frankly  said :  "  I  do  not  know  what 
that  passage  of  Scripture  teaches;  I  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  satisfy  my  own  mind." 

Brother  Pierce  was  so  surprised  at  this 
confession  of  ignorance  that  before  he  could 
recover  himself  Doctor  Brown,  a  physician 
of  Millersburg,  said :  "  Mr.  Moderator,  one 
thing  which  I  am  particularly  pleased  with 
in  my  pastor  is  that  he  does  not  know 
everything,  and  when  he  does  not  know  he 
knows  it  and  is  frank  enough  to  say  so.  It 
makes  a  lot  of  us  common  folks  feel  that 
he  knows  how  to  sympathize  with  us,  and 
as  we  know  he  is  a  student,  we  are  confident 
134 


Contending  for  tbc  ffattb 

that  he  will  grow.  Sometimes  I  fear  min- 
isters, like  doctors,  claim  to  know  things, 
where  it  would  be  a  great  deal  more  to  their 
credit  if  they  would  confess  ignorance." 

If  I  had  been  a  member  of  the  council 
I  should  have  publicly  indorsed  Doctor 
Brown's  remarks,  but  as  I  was  not,  I  kept 
still ;  but  Deacon  Stearns  said :  "  Ignorance 
on  some  things  is  all  right,  but  there  are 
certain  simple  scriptural  matters  which 
every  preacher,  especially  a  graduate  of  the 
seminary,  ought  to  understand." 

But  I  cannot  attempt  to  recount  all  the 
doings  of  that  council.  The  discussion  was 
protracted  upon  many  questions,  but  I  no- 
ticed that  frequently  when  the  brethren  had 
succeeded  in  expressing  their  own  views 
before  the  council,  they  were  satisfied,  seem- 
ing to  think  that  the  candidate  for  ordina- 
tion indorsed  their  statements.  I  would  not 
like  to  leave  a  wrong  impression  of  this 
council.  I  presume,  as  this  was  my  first 
experience,  that  the  eccentricities  and  pe- 
culiarities of  some  brethren  particularly  im- 
pressed me.  Not  a  little  of  the  discussion 
was  dignified  and  helpful.  At  length,  when 
no  one  desired  to  ask  any  further  questions, 
Brother  Young  was  asked  to  retire  while 
the  council  passed  upon  his  case. 
135 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  XibertgviUe 

Elder  Free  arose  and  said :  "  Mr.  Mod- 
erator, I  desire  to  express  myself  as  highly 
pleased  with  our  Brother  Young's  exam- 
ination, and  I  move  you  that  we  declare 
ourselves  as  fully  satisfied  with  his  Christian 
experience,  call  to  the  ministry,  and  views 
of  Christian  doctrine,  and  that  we  proceed 
with  his  formal  setting  apart  to  the  gospel 
ministry. 

Deacon  Barber  seconded  the  motion. 

Rev.  John  Briggs  was  the  first  to  get  the 
floor,  although  several  others  made  the  at- 
tempt. He  said :  "  I  cannot  say  that  I  am 
fully  satisfied  with  Mr.  Young's  statements. 
He  seems  to  be  somewhat  in  bondage  to 
the  letter  that  killeth,  although  he  is  in  a 
measure  open-minded,  and  I  hope  is  faced 
in  the  right  direction.  I  am,  however,  un- 
prepared to  vote  for  the  motion  in  its 
present  form." 

Brother  Calvin  Pierce  was  the  next  to 
speak.  "  I  am  far  from  being  satisfied  with 
our  brother.  He  seems  to  have  had  no  ex- 
perience; his  call  to  the  ministry  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  any  call  at  all,  and  he 
is  thoroughly  unorthodox  in  doctrine.  The 
church  is  loaded  down  with  this  kind  of 
preachers  already.  I  don't  know  what  we 
are  coming  to.  I  think  we  must  be  in  the 
136 


Contenoing  foe  tbe  ffaitb 

last  days,  which  Paul  tells  about,  when 
people  shall  have  itching  ears.  In  my  judg- 
ment about  all  our  seminaries  are  doing  in 
these  days  is  to  prepare  young  fellows  to 
scratch  these  itching  ears.  I  am  entirely 
opposed  to  the  motion."  And  Deacon 
Stearns,  with  a  peculiarly  determined 
expression  upon  his  face,  said :  "  Amen !  " 
Doctor  Wayte  now  spoke :  "  Brethren,  we 
need  to  proceed  with  great  wisdom.  It 
would  be  a  serious  matter  to  ordain  an  unfit 
man  to  the  gospel  ministry.  It  would  also 
be  very  serious  indeed  to  shut  the  door  in 
the  face  of  a  worthy  man  who  has  spent 
years  in  preparation  for  the  high  calling. 
Personally,  I  believe  that  Brother  Young 
is  worthy  of  ordination.  I  have  been 
very  favorably  impressed  with  his  evi- 
dent candor  and  honesty.  He  shows  the 
Christlike  spirit.  He  is  a  clear  thinker, 
and  undoubtedly  holds  firmly  to  the  great 
fundamental  doctrines  of  our  faith.  It 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  agree  with 
all  of  us.  We  see  things  differently  and  are 
in  great  danger  of  setting  up  our  own 
fallible  ideas  as  standards  by  which  to 
measure  others.  Perhaps  a  slight  modi- 
fication of  the  motion  would  render  it  sat- 
isfactory to  all,  and  so  I  move  to  amend 
137 


Cbutcb  at 

it  so  that  it  will  say,  instead  of  '  we  are 
entirely  satisfied/  '  we  are  sufficiently  well 
satisfied  to  proceed  with  the  ordination.' " 

The  motion  as  thus  amended  was  finally 
unanimously  carried. 

I  could  not  remain  to  the  formal  ordina- 
tion services  in  the  evening.  The  papers 
reported  an  able  sermon  by  Doctor  Wayte, 
and  impressive  exercises  throughout. 


XII 
a  pastor 


Many  men  of  many  minds, 
Many  women  of  many  kinds, 
'Tis  a  task  by  no  means  small, 
To  find  a  man  to  suit  them  all. 


Rev.  James  Brown  had 
closed  his  pastorate,  steps  were  im- 
mediately taken  to  secure  another 
pastor.  A  pulpit  committee  was  appointed, 
composed  of  the  following  brethren  :  James 
Bright,  George  Graham,  John  Blackwell, 
Peter  Burden,  and  myself. 

In  selecting  this  committee,  great  care 
was  exercised  not  to  appoint  any  persons 
who  had  taken  an  active  part  either  for  or 
138 


tf  inDimi  a  paatoc 

against  the  retiring  pastor.  The  result  was 
that  with  one  or  two  exceptions  those  on 
the  committee  were  not  very  active  in  the 
church  work.  Then  too,  an  effort  was  made 
to  have  the  different  classes  in  the  church 
represented  on  the  committee.  James 
Bright  was  in  the  life  insurance  business 
and  a  man  in  middle  life.  George  Graham 
was  a  young  man  and  a  clerk  in  a  clothing 
house.  John  Blackwell  was  a  lawyer;  he 
had  been  a  police  magistrate  at  one  time, 
and  was  known  as  Squire  Blackwell.  Peter 
Burden  was  a  mechanic  in  one  of  the  mills, 
and  I  was  a  dry-goods  merchant.  Squire 
Blackwell  was  chosen  chairman  of  the 
committee  and  James  Bright  secretary. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  committee  we 
decided,  in  view  of  the  divided  condition 
of  the  church  and  the  prevailing  hard  times, 
that  we  could  not  offer  a  salary  to  exceed 
twelve  hundred  dollars.  This  was  a  reduc- 
tion of  three  hundred  dollars. 

It  was  further  decided  that  we  must  get 
a  young  man  with  a  small  family,  some  one 
who  could  get  hold  of  the  young  people, 
and  who  could  get  along  on  the  reduced 
salary.  We  also  determined  to  send  a  state- 
ment of  our  desire  to  secure  a  pastor  to 
our  leading  denominational  papers  and 
139 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

invite  correspondence.  We  then  adjourned 
our  first  meeting,  feeling  that  we  had  made 
decided  progress,  and  though  no  one  of 
us  had  ever  served  on  a  committee  of  this 
nature  before,  we  were  confident  that  we 
were  proceeding  with  wisdom  and  care. 
However,  as  I  look  at  the  matter  now,  I  can 
see  that  we  did  little  else  than  make  grievous 
mistakes. 

Letters  came  in  great  abundance,  and  at 
our  second  meeting  Brother  Bright  pro- 
duced a  package  of  something  over  one  hun- 
dred. Some  men  wrote  for  themselves 
and  others  got  their  friends  to  write  for 
them.  Some  sent  their  pictures,  newspaper 
clippings,  and  samples  of  their  sermons. 

"  Well !  "  exclaimed  Brother  Graham,  "  it 
is  evident  that  our  church  is  widely  known 
and  is  a  very  desirable  field.  We  can  simply 
take  our  pick  of  men." 

"  That  is  so,"  replied  Peter  Burden ;  "  I 
always  told  my  wife  that  Libertyville  is 
the  center  of  things.  Our  mills  are  known 
all  over  the  country  and  ought  to  pay  bet- 
ter wages  than  they  do.  We'll  have  no 
trouble  in  getting  a  first-class  man  for 
twelve  hundred  dollars." 

"  But  we  must  exercise  great  care,"  added 
James  Bright.  "  We  want  to  be  sure  to 
140 


f  inOing  a  pastor 

get  the  right  man.  It  is  something  like  life 
insurance — you  want  to  be  sure  your  man 
is  all  right.  Some  companies  are  careless 
and  take  poor  risks,  but  our  company  finds 
out  all  about  a  man  before  writing  him  up. 
When  these  letters  began  to  come  in  as 
they  have,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  we  must 
sift  them  by  a  rigid  examination,  so  I  have 
prepared  a  list  of  questions  which,  I  believe, 
we  ought  to  send  to  some  friend  of  each 
applicant,  or  with  slight  change  they  might 
be  sent  direct  to  the  applicant  himself.  Let 
me  read  what  I  have  prepared : 

1  (i)  How  old  is  he?  (2)  Is  he  married?  (3) 
How  large  a  family  has  he?  (4)  Is  his  wife  a 
good  helpmeet  for  him  in  his  work?  (5)  Has 
he  good  health?  (6)  Has  his  wife  good  health? 
(7)  How  tall  is  he  and  about  how  much  does 
he  weigh?  (8)  Does  he  have  a  commanding 
appearance  in  the  pulpit?  (9)  Does  he  use  notes? 
(10)  Is  he  a  fluent  speaker?  (n)  How  long  have 
you  known  him?  (12)  Is  there  anything  in  his 
character  that  you  know  of  that  would  hinder 
him  in  his  work  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel? 
(13)  What  do  you  consider  his  strongest  points 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel?  (14)  What  do  you 
consider  his  weak  points  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel?  (15)  Has  he  a  college  education?  (16) 
From  what  college  or  seminaries  did  he  graduate  ? 

1 A  verbatim  copy  of  a  list  of  questions  sent  out 
recently  by  a  pulpit  committee. 

141 


Cburcb  at 

(17)  How    high    did    he    stand    in    his    class? 

(18)  Do  you  consider  him  a  deep  thinker?     (19) 
Do  you  consider  him  a  deep  spiritual  man?    (20) 
Is  he  evangelistic  in  his  thought?     (21)  Has  he 
any  personal  magnetism?     (22)   Is  he  well  liked 
in  the  church  where  he  now  is?     (23)  Is  he  well 
thought   of   in   the   community    at    large?      (24) 
Is  he  having  success  in  his  work  as  pastor  where 
he  now  is?     (25)    How  many  years'  experience 
has  he  had  as  a  pastor  of  a  church?     (26)  What 
church  did  he  come  from  before  he  took  his  pres- 
ent place?     (28)    Is  he  a  hard  worker?     (29) 
Is    he    progressive?      (30)    Has    he    had    many 
additions  to  the  churches  he  has  been  pastor  of? 

Having  concluded  the  reading  of  his  list 
of  questions,  he  added :  "  Perhaps  I  ought 
to  explain  my  reason  for  asking  some  of 
these  questions.  Of  course,  we  must  know 
his  age.  Libertyville  can't  get  along  with 
any  man  who  has  crossed  the  '  dead  line.' 
In  fact,  we  have  got  to  have  a  young  man 
full  of  life  and  hustle.  Then  I  have  asked 
about  his  health  and  that  of  his  wife.  We 
don't  want  any  invalids  around  here,  nor  do 
we  want  a  great  gang  of  children  to  take  all 
the  time  and  energy  of  the  pastor  and 
his  wife.  You  may  wonder  why  I  said  any- 
thing about  his  height  and  weight.  My  wife 
said :  '  Whatever  you  do,  don't  get  a  little 
fellow ;  I  can't  bear  a  runt  in  the  pulpit,'  and 
142 


a  pastor 

Mrs.  Blackwell,  who  was  present,  replied: 
'  I'd  just  as  soon  see  a  runt  as  a  bean-pole.' 
So  you  see  we've  got  to  take  these  things 
into  account.  Then  we've  got  to  have  a  col- 
lege man,  and  deep  thinker,  and  one  who  is 
full  of  personal  magnetism,  and  who  is  pro- 
gressive and  up-to-date.  In  fact,  there  is 
not  an  unnecessary  question  here." 

"  Right  there  is  the  trouble,  to  my  mind," 
said  Squire  Blackwell.  "  You  haven't  asked 
questions  enough.  I  would  inquire,  is  he 
orthodox?  Can  he  sing?  How  long  does 
he  preach  and  pray?  Has  he  good  eye- 
sight? Does  he  remember  names  well? 
Does  he  make  lots  of  calls  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Brother  Burden ;  "  I 
would  like  to  know  if  he  calls  on  the  poor 
folks  or  is  he  stuck  up  ?  And  does  he  shake 
hands  with  everybody  ?  " 

"  And  I  was  about  to  say,"  added  the 
squire,  "  does  he  pay  his  debts  ?  And  has  he 
the  fool  notion  of  parting  his  hair  in  the 
middle  ?  Does  he  meddle  in  politics  ?  Where 
was  he  born?  And  has  he  got  good  blood 
in  his  veins?  " 

How  many  more  questions  the  squire 
would  have  proposed  I  do  not  know,  but  I 
interrupted  him,  saying :  "  It  is  impossible 
to  ask  all  the  questions  we  would  like  to. 

143 


Cbc  Cburcb  at  Xibettgvillc 

Many  of  the  things  the  squire  refers  to  are 
important,  but  it  seems  to  me  Brother 
Bright's  questions  are  sufficient  to  begin 
with.  When  we  get  answers  to  all  of  these 
we  will  have  a  basis  upon  which  to  decide 
whether  or  not  we  want  a  man  to  come 
as  a  candidate,  and  when  he  comes  we  can 
ask  him  all  the  questions  we  think  best." 

The  result  of  the  discussion  was  that 
Brother  Bright's  plan  was  adopted,  and  we 
adjourned  to  await  replies. 

At  our  next  meeting  we  were  greatly 
surprised  at  the  report  which  our  secretary 
brought  of  the  result  of  the  sending  out  of 
the  list  of  questions.  From  a  good  many 
no  reply  whatever  had  come. 

"  I  am  not  surprised  at  that,"  said  Brother 
Graham,  "  for,  of  course,  a  good  many  saw 
at  once  that  they  could  not  measure  up  to 
our  requirements." 

But  some  seemed  to  misunderstand  our 
motives  entirely.  I  distinctly  remember 
some  of  the  replies  which  Brother  Bright 
read.  One  brother  wrote : 

"  If  the  Angel  Gabriel  should  answer  the 
questions  you  ask  he  would  not  stand  the 
ghost  of  a  chance  of  being  called  to  your 
pulpit." 

Another  said: 

144 


finding  a  pastor 

"  When  you  answer  the  enclosed  ques- 
tions I  will  fill  out  the  blank  which  you 
sent  me."  The  enclosed  list  was  one  hun- 
dred questions  about  our  church.  I  recall 
among  them  the  following: 

Are  your  business  affairs  run  by  a  clique?  Do 
you  pay  your  bills  promptly?  Are  the  members 
troubled  much  with  Sunday  sickness  ?  How  many 
cranks  are  there  in  the  church?  Are  you  willing 
to  allow  the  pastor  to  run  his  own  domestic  af- 
fairs? How  many  of  the  leading  members  have 
the  outs?  Do  you  expect  the  pastor's  wife  to 
attend  all  the  services,  accompany  the  pastor  in 
all  his  calls,  be  president  of  the  woman's  society, 
leader  of  the  juniors,  and  superintendent  of  the 
primary  department  in  the  Sunday-school?  What 
is  the  average  age,  height,  and  weight  of  your 
church?  Does  the  male  or  female  element  pre- 
dominate? What  proportion  of  the  members  are 
sufficiently  robust  in  health  to  attend  two  services 
on  Sunday?  How  many  members  have  you,  and 
how  many  are  good  for  nothing?  What  is  the 
business  reputation  of  your  deacons?  What  is 
the  average  attendance  at  your  prayer-meetings? 
What  do  you  regard  as  the  weak  points  in  your 
church?  Are  you  an  eminently  spiritual  people? 
How  many  college  graduates  have  you,  and  how 
did  they  rank  in  their  respective  classes?  How 
did  you  get  rid  of  your  last  pastor? 

But  I  will  not  give  any  more  of  these 
questions.     When  Brother  Bright  finished 
K  145 


Gbe  Cbutcb  at 

the  reading,  Squire  Blackwell  was  excited, 
and  exclaimed: 

"  Well,  that  beats  anything  I  ever  heard. 
It  is  an  insult  to  this  church.  I  wonder 
if  he  thinks  we  will  humiliate  ourselves  by 
answering  such  a  list  of  impertinent 
questions  ?  " 

"  I  suppose,"  interposed  Brother  Burden, 
"  that  he  thinks  he  has  just  as  much  right 
to  ask  questions  as  we  have." 

"  Well,  one  thing  is  certain,"  replied  the 
squire,  "  those  questions  will  never  be 
answered  with  my  consent." 

It  was  voted  that  these  questions  be  re- 
turned to  the  writer  unanswered.  The  next 
reply  was  of  an  entirely  different  character. 
The  questions  were  all  answered,  but  in  a 
most  unexpected  manner. 

Here  are  a  few  of  the  replies : 

"How  old  is  he?"  He  is  old  enough  to  know 
something  and  to  know  he  does  not  know  every- 
thing, and  not  too  old  to  learn.  "  How  large  a 
family  has  he  ?  "  Large  enough  to  worry  all  the 
old  maids  of  both  sexes  in  the  church,  and  to 
call  for  the  prompt  payment  of  his  salary.  "  How 
tall  is  he  and  how  much  does  he  weigh?"  He 
is  tall  enough  to  look  down  on  any  committee 
that  would  ask  such  a  question,  and  in  character 
is  heavy  enough  for  any  pastorate  in  the  land. 
"  Does  he  use  notes  ?  "  Not  so  many  as  some 
146 


Jf inOina  a  pastor 

of  his  church-members  do,  especially  if  his  salary 
is  kept  paid  up.  "Has  his  wife  good  health?" 
She  would  have  if  they  could  afford  to  keep  help, 
and  if  the  churches  could  learn  that  they  have  no 
special  claims  on  a  pastor's  wife.  "  How  high 
did  he  stand  in  his  class  ?  "  He  stood  high  enough 
to  get  on  the  rostrum  on  commencement  day. 
"  Has  he  any  personal  magnetism  ?  "  When  in 
an  ice-box,  not  very  much.  "  Is  there  anything  in 
his  character  that  you  know  of  that  would  hinder 
him  in  his  work  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel?" 
That  depends  upon  what  the  church  wants.  "  Is 
he  progressive  ? "  He  still  believes  the  Bible, 
and  continues  to  hold  a  few  Baptist  doctrines, 
but,  on  the  whole,  his  case  is  hopeful. 

But  I  have  given  enough  of  these  re- 
markable replies.  The  other  members  of 
the  committee  were  greatly  stirred  up  over 
them  and  regarded  them  as  a  direct  and  seri- 
ous insult  to  the  committee,  but  I  must 
confess  that  I  began  to  feel  that  our  list  of 
questions  contained  several  which  ought  not 
to  have  been  asked,  and  that  the  whole 
scheme  lacked  dignity  and  seemed  to  put 
the  ministry  on  the  basis  of  persons  seeking 
a  job,  or  of  an  applicant  for  life  insurance, 
but  I  said  nothing. 

We  now  examined  those  replies  in  which 

the  questions  had  been  answered  in  full  or 

in  part,  and  finally  decided  to  invite  one 

young  brother,  whose  record  seemed  to  be 

147 


Cbc  Cburcb  at  Xtbcrtsvtlle 

all  that  could  be  desired,  to  visit  us  as  a 
candidate.  In  his  case  the  entire  thirty 
questions  were  all  fully  answered  and  that 
too,  in  a  most  gratifying  manner.  We  were 
confident  that  he  was  just  the  man  for  us. 

We  sent  for  him  at  once  and  he  came 
the  following  Sunday,  but  we  were  greatly 
disappointed  in  him.  He  looked  much  older 
than  was  reported,  was  hard  of  hearing, 
very  bald-headed,  painfully  bow-legged, 
squint-eyed,  and  preached  a  sermon  an  hour 
and  ten  minutes  long. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  committee 
Squire  Blackwell  said :  "  It  is  just  as  I  told 
you;  we  did  not  ask  questions  enough.  I 
am  in  favor  of  enlarging  the  list.  We  must 
cover  the  whole  ground  if  we  expect  to 
accomplish  anything." 

Brother  Bright  replied :  "  I  have  another 
plan  to  propose.  I  still  think,  however, 
that  this  idea  of  sending  out  questions  is 
all  right,  and  there  is  undoubtedly  much 
in  what  the  squire  says,  but  I  have  another 
plan  which  I  want  to  propose.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  we  have  got  to  see  the  men  for 
ourselves.  A  good  many  will  not  answer 
these  questions,  and  when  they  are  an- 
swered, I  fear  we  cannot  always  rely  on 
the  replies.  Now,  my  idea  is  this:  we  will 
148 


finding  a  pastor 

not  have  any  more  candidates,  but  simply 
have  supplies.  We  will  write  to  a  lot  of 
good  men  and  invite  them  to  come  and 
spend  each  a  Sunday  as  a  supply.  When 
they  come,  if  we  do  not  like  them,  we  will 
be  under  no  obligations  to  them;  but  when 
we  strike  a  man  who  pleases  us,  we  will 
question  him  and  talk  business  to  him." 

This  seemed  to  us  all  a  capital  plan,  and 
soon  the  procession  of  supplies  began. 
Among  those  invited  were  a  good  many 
friends  of  members  of  the  church.  Since 
they  were  coming  simply  as  supplies,  we 
felt  free  to  invite  many  who  otherwise 
would  not  have  been  invited. 

Doctor  Brainard,  who  came  the  fourth 
Sunday,  captivated  everybody,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  evening  service  he  was  asked 
to  meet  with  the  committee.  After  express- 
ing our  gratification  at  having  him  with  us, 
Brother  Bright,  who  had  been  appointed  as 
spokesman,  began  asking  the  doctor  ques- 
tions. He  asked  him  about  his  family,  num- 
ber of  children  and  wife's  health,  what  col- 
lege and  seminary  he  attended,  and  had  just 
inquired  as  to  his  pastorates,  their  length 
and  success,  when  the  doctor  said :  "  May 
T  know  why  these  questions  are  being  asked 
of  me?" 

149 


"  Certainly,"  said  Brother  Bright.  "  We 
are  looking  for  a  pastor,  and  being  favor- 
ably impressed  with  you  to-day,  it  has  oc- 
curred to  us  that  possibly  you  may  be 
adapted  to  our  field." 

A  peculiar  smile  came  over  his  face  as 
he  replied :  "  So  you  regarded  me  as  a  can- 
didate for  your  vacant  pulpit.  Let  me  hasten 
to  assure  you  that  I  supposed  when  you  in- 
vited me  to  supply  for  you,  it  was  simply 
as  a  supply.  I  wanted  to  visit  a  friend 
near  here,  and  so  I  came.  I  have  no  thought 
of  leaving  my  present  pastorate,  and  would 
hardly  think  of  coming  to  Libertyville  if  I 
had.  I  regret  that  you  have  misled  me  in 
this  matter,  and,  of  course,  you  will  not  care 
to  ask  me  any  more  questions." 

Squire  Blackwell  tried  to  apologize,  but 
accomplished  little  in  relieving  an  embar- 
rassing situation. 

Some  of  the  committee,  after  the  doctor 
had  gone  out,  were  in  favor  of  giving  up 
the  plan  of  hearing  supplies,  but  we  did 
not  see  how  it  could  be  done;  as  the  men 
were  already  invited,  we  could  not  very  well 
tell  them  not  to  come,  nor  could  we  tell 
them  that  we  wanted  them  as  candidates, 
for  we  were  not  sure,  until  we  heard  them, 
how  we  wanted  to  regard  them,  and  so  we 


finding  a  pastor 

concluded  that  we  must  go  on  through  the 
list  of  eight  more,  but  we  decided  not  to 
arrange  for  any  more  supplies  until  we 
were  through  with  these. 

The  next  man  who  came  was  a  special 
friend  of  Colonel  Gorham;  in  fact,  the  col- 
onel had  somewhere  attended  the  church 
of  which  he  was  pastor.  The  colonel  was 
wealthy  and  gave  quite  liberally  to  the  pas- 
tor's salary,  when  he  liked  the  pastor.  He 
was  not  a  member  of  the  church.  His  wife 
and  daughter,  however,  were  members,  but 
their  worldliness  was  a  source  of  much 
trouble  to  some,  especially  to  Deacon 
Stearns,  who  often  said  in  deacons'  meet- 
ings that  they  would  be  disciplined  if  it 
were  not  for  the  old  colonel's  money.  The 
colonel  had  said  so  much  about  his  friend, 
Doctor  Connell,  that  we  expected  great 
things  from  him. 

But  we  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 
Doctor  Connell  was  past  fifty  years  of  age, 
had  never  been  married,  was  a  regular  book- 
worm, a  tiresome  preacher,  and  said  he 
must  have  eighteen  hundred  dollars  salary. 

The  colonel  insisted  on  meeting  with 
the  committee,  and  said :  "  Now,  gentlemen, 
there  is  the  man  for  you,  a  gentleman  of 
the  old  school,  a  great  reader,  a  deep 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbcrtsvillc 

thinker,  a  strong  preacher.  He  will  build 
things  up  here  and  draw  a  class  of  hearers 
that  amount  to  something." 

"  But,  colonel,"  interrupted  the  squire, 
"  we  can  pay  but  twelve  hundred  dollars, 
and  he  wants  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  we 
are  told." 

"  What  if  he  does  ?  "  urged  the  colonel ; 
"  we  have  been  paying  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars for  a  third-rate  man.  I'll  pay  the  extra 
three  hundred  dollars  myself  the  first  year 
if  you  will  call  Doctor  Connell." 

Brother  Bright  now  spoke :  "  Colonel,  the 
trouble  with  Doctor  Connell  is  he  is  too  old 
and  has  no  wife,  and  seems  to  lack  in 
personal  magnetism." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  go 
ahead  and  call  some  young  popinjay  who 
hasn't  any  experience  or  sense,  and  who  has 
a  wife  that  does  not  know  as  much  as  he 
does,  but  I  give  you  warning  now  that  if 
you  do  not  call  Doctor  Connell  you  need 
not  come  around  begging  any  more  money 
from  me."  And  the  colonel  withdrew, 
leaving  the  committee  greatly  disturbed. 

George  Graham  was  the  first  to  speak. 
"  This  is  serious.     I  do  not  see  how  we 
can  get  along  without  Colonel  Gorham,  and 
I  am  in  favor  of  calling  Doctor  Connell." 
152 


a  pastor 

"  We  might  just  as  well  close  the  house 
at  once,"  said  Mr.  Burden,  "  as  to  call  such 
a  man  as  that;  and  what  is  more,  I  don't 
believe  in  bowing  down  to  any  man  because 
he  happens  to  have  money.  Colonel  Gor- 
ham  is  an  old  skinflint,  who  grinds  his 
men  down  to  the  lowest  notch.  We're  bet- 
ter off  without  his  money,  and  then  to  think 
of  paying  that  old  bachelor  of  his  eighteen 
hundred  dollars !  No,  sir ;  I'll  never  agree 
to  anything  of  the  kind." 

The  squire  replied :  "  It  will  be  hard  to 
get  along  without  the  colonel's  contribution, 
but  I  fear  if  we  called  Doctor  Connell  we 
would  have  to  get  along  without  anything 
from  a  good  many  others.  The  colonel  will 
come  around  all  right,  I  guess. 

But  I  cannot  attempt  to  tell  all  the  trouble 
we  had  before  we  got  through  with  our 
supplies,  but  I  must  say  a  few  words  about 
Rev.  W.  Pierpont  Smythe.  He  was  a 
young  man  who  had  been  out  of  school 
but  a  few  years,  was  a  fluent  speaker, 
made  frequent  references  to  himself  and  to 
his  remarkable  work  at  Bloomfield,  where 
he  was  pastor.  Many  of  the  young  people 
and  some  of  the  older  ones  were  greatly 
pleased  with  him.  So  the  committee  decided 
to  have  a  conference  with  him. 
153 


Gbe  Cburcb  at 

Brother  Bright,  who  was  learning  wis- 
dom from  experience,  began  cautiously 
to  ask  him  questions.  But  he  had  not  made 
much  progress  when  Rev.  W.  Pierpont 
Smythe  said :  "  I  see,  brethren,  that  you  are 
thinking  of  me  in  connection  with  your 
vacant  pulpit.  I  am  not  in  the  least  sur- 
prised at  this;  on  the  contrary,  I  should 
have  been  much  surprised  had  it  been  other- 
wise. My  work  at  Bloomfield  is  so  widely 
known  that  I  am  constantly  receiving  flat- 
tering calls  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
I  am  now  considering  three  very  important 
churches,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  I  can  en- 
tertain your  call  at  all.  I  shall  be  very 
sorry  to  disappoint  you,  but  I  have  got 
to  disappoint  a  good  many,  and  of  course, 
I  must  take  into  account  the  future.  I 
must  have  a  field  where  my  gifts  will  not 
be  hampered.  That  is  the  trouble  with 
Bloomfield;  I  have  done  practically  all  that 
can  be  done  there.  I  fear  Libertyville  is  too 
narrow  a  field  for  me,  still  it  might  do  for 
a  few  years.  Should  I  decide  to  come  here 
the  work  would  need  to  be  thoroughly  re- 
organized. Your  methods,  as  I  understand 
them,  are  entirely  behind  the  times.  Your 
building  would  have  to  be  redecorated,  and 
I  never  would  think  of  tolerating  such 
154 


finding  a  pastor 

music  as  you  had  to-day,  and  my  salary 
would  have  to  be  eighteen  hundred  dol- 
lars to  begin  with,  and  an  assurance 
of  an  increase  at  the  end  of  the  first  year; 
but  with  the  large  congregations  which  I 
would  draw,  this  would  be  a  very  simple 
matter.  I  will  say  this,  that  while  I  can- 
not now  tell  what  I  will  do,  you  can  go 
right  ahead  and  extend  the  call  and  I  will 
give  you  my  answer  in  a  few  weeks." 

George  Graham  and  Mr.  Bright  were  in 
favor  of  calling  him  at  once,  but  I  sug- 
gested that  we  take  time  to  look  up  his 
work  at  Bloomfield.  We  did  this  and  found 
that  the  work,  at  the  beginning  of  his  pas- 
torate, had  had  a  veritable  boom,  but  that 
reaction  and  division  had  set  in,  congrega- 
tions had  run  down,  finances  were  in  bad 
shape,  and  Mr.  Smythe  had  been  asked  to 
resign. 

We  heard  all  of  our  supplies  without  be- 
ing able  to  agree  upon  any  one  of  them. 
Four  months  had  now  passed,  and  we 
seemed  to  have  made  no  progress  in  secur- 
ing a  pastor.  Brother  Bright  was  some- 
what discouraged,  but  was  in  favor  of 
revising  the  list  of  questions  and  trying  that 
plan  again. 

But  Squire  Blackwell  said :  "  I  have  been 

155 


Cbe  Cburcb  at  XtbertBville 

thinking  this  whole  matter  over  very  care- 
fully, and  I  have  a  plan  which  I  believe 
will  work.  Let  us  go  over  all  our  cor- 
respondence and  select  four  good  men,  the 
best  in  the  lot,  and  invite  them  to  come  as 
candidates.  Then,  after  we  have  heard 
them  all,  we  will  call  a  meeting  of  the 
church  and  by  ballot  select  the  best  man  of 
the  four." 

This  plan  received  the  hearty  indorse- 
ment of  the  committee,  and  the  names  were 
at  once  selected  and  the  invitations  sent  to 
them.  It  did  not  occur  to  us  to  tell  these 
men  our  plan.  I  now  suspect  that  they 
would  not  have  come  had  they  known  of 
our  competitive  scheme,  but  as  it  was,  they 
all  came,  and  with  one  exception  made  very 
favorable  impressions. 

A  meeting  of  the  church  was  at  once 
called.  The  attendance  was  large,  and 
Squire  Blackwell,  with  great  hopefulness, 
explained  his  plan  to  the  people,  and  the 
balloting  began.  Ballot  after  ballot  was 
taken  and  no  decision  was  reached.  Then 
time  was  taken  to  set  forth  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  the  different  candidates,  and  the 
discussions  became  somewhat  heated,  as 
Deacon  Stearns  charged  one  candidate  with 
being  unorthodox,  and  another  candidate 
156 


finding  a  pastor 

happened  to  be  a  personal  friend  of  our 
late  pastor.  After  the  discussion  the  bal- 
loting was  resumed,  and  continued  until 
eleven  o'clock,  with  no  prospect  whatever 
of  reaching  a  decision.  Then  several  cen- 
sured the  pulpit  committee  for  wasting 
six  months,  and  charged  it  with  being 
responsible  for  the  existing  trouble. 

Squire  Blackwell  replied:  "Brethren,  I 
for  one  have  had  enough  of  pulpit  com- 
mittee work  to  last  me  the  remainder  of 
my  life.  I  want  to  see  some  one  else  try 
it  a  while.  I  hereby  resign  from  the 
committee." 

All  the  other  members  of  the  committee 
at  once  followed  his  example.  I  must  say 
that  the  unanimity  and  promptness  with 
which  our  resignations  were  accepted 
showed  scant  appreciation  of  the  hard  work 
we  had  done.  A  new  committee,  composed 
of  Judge  Straight,  Elder  Heartwell,  and 
Brethren  Goodwill,  Smith,  and  Slocum  was 
at  once  appointed. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  new  com- 
mittee, Charley  Goodwill  told  me,  Elder 
Heartwell  led  in  prayer  and  prayed  so 
earnestly  and  touchingly  that  the  committee 
might  have  divine  guidance  that  all  felt 
that  this  was  of  supreme  importance.  It 
157 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xibem:vlUc 

was  decided  that  it  was  unnecessary  to 
reduce  the  salary.  They  further  determined 
that  they  would  consider  but  one  man  at  a 
time,  and  that  they  would  not  invite  any 
man  to  visit  the  church  as  a  candidate  until 
they  had  satisfied  themselves  as  a  com- 
mittee that  he  could  be  recommended  to  the 
church  as  pastor. 

The  result  was  that  within  a  few  weeks 
Rev.  Gideon  M.  Mitchell,  a  man  somewhat 
past  middle  life,  was  called  and  entered 
upon  a  pastorate  which  extended  over 
ten  years,  in  which  the  church  made 
substantial  and  encouraging  growth. 


XIII 
Bunt  Dorcas 

Now  abideth  these  three  gifts — 
Gifts  bestowed  from  heaven  above; 

The  last,  the  greatest  of  the  three, 
Faith,  and  hope,  and  love. 

1ESTERDAY  I  received  a  letter 
from  Libertyville,  and  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  confess  that  it  was 
wet  with  my  tears  when  I  was  through 
reading  it. 

158 


Bunt  Boreas 

The  following  extract  from  it  will  ex- 
plain the  reason: 

Dear  Aunt  Dorcas  is  dead.  She  had  been  fail- 
ing for  some  months.  There  appeared  to  be  no 
disease,  just  a  wearing  out  of  the  dear  old  body. 
I  wish  you  could  have  met  her  during  these  last 
weeks.  Perfect  love  had  cast  out  all  fear,  and 
she  was  supremely  happy.  Her  face  was  simply 
radiant  with  hope,  and  heaven  seemed  all  about 
her.  She  sent  many  messages  of  love  and  encour- 
agement to  the  homes  of  poverty  and  suffering, 
where  she  had  so  often  been  a  very  messenger 
of  heaven.  Her  room  was  constantly  filled  with 
the  fragrance  of  beautiful  flowers,  tributes  of  the 
sincere  sympathy  of  loving  hearts. 

Her  last  words  were :  "  I  have  tried  to  be  faith- 
ful. I  am  going  home  now,  to  be  with  Him  and 
my  loved  ones." 

Her  funeral  was  held  yesterday  at  the  church. 
The  gathering  was  a  most  remarkable  one.  The 
rich  and  poor  met  and  wept  together,  and  all  felt 
that  they  had  lost  a  personal  friend,  and  when  the 
choir  sang  softly  the  hymn  she  loved  so  well  and 
sang  so  often — 

Some  day  the  silver  cord  will  break 
And  I  no  more,  as  now,  shall  sing; 

But,  oh!  the  joy,  when  I  awake, 
Within  the  palace  of  the  King, 

a  strange  hush  came  over  all,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  we  were  at  the  very  doorway  of  the  pal- 
ace of  the  King  and  could  almost  hear  her  voice 
of  praise  within. 

159 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  XlbertEvtllc 

The  pastor  spoke  very  beautifully  and  tenderly 
from  the  words,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could," 
and  all  thanked  God  for  such  a  noble  life,  and 
wondered  what  the  church  and  what  Libertyville 
would  be  without  Aunt  Dorcas. 

Many  a  poor  mother  pressed  her  babe  closer 
to  her  breast,  and  sobbed  aloud,  when  she  real- 
ized that  Aunt  Dorcas  would  never  come  to  her 
home  again,  bringing  good  cheer,  comfort,  and 
courage.  Many  lingered  at  the  casket,  as  they 
took  a  last  look  at  that  dear,  sweet  face,  that 
even  in  death  was  wreathed  with  a  beautiful 
smile.  What  will  our  prayer-meetings,  our  so- 
cials, our  missionary  meetings  be,  what  will 
anything  be,  without  Aunt  Dorcas? 

But  I  will  not  copy  any  more  of  this 
letter.  I  have  read  and  reread  it  many 
times  to-day,  and  have  been  living  over 
again  many  scenes  of  the  dear  old  Liberty- 
ville days. 

I  wish  I  could  tell  you  about  Aunt  Dor- 
cas, so  that  you  would  really  know  her. 
But  with  my  poor  way  of  telling  things  I 
cannot  hope  to  do  this ;  still  I  must  write 
down  some  of  the  many  recollections  which 
crowd  upon  me. 

She  rarely  referred  to  her  earlier  life, 
but  one  evening  in  our  home  our  conversa- 
tion took  us  back  over  the  past,  and  Aunt 
Dorcas  told  wife  and  me  the  story  of  her 
life.  I  cannot  here  attempt  to  repeat  what 
160 


Bunt  Boreas 

she  related  to  us.  But  I  know  our  hearts 
were  greatly  touched  as  she  told  us  of  her 
happy  youth,  her  school  experiences,  her 
devoted  parents,  her  marriage  to  a  noble 
man,  her  charming  home,  and  her  two  dear 
little  ones,  and  then  of  the  dark  days  of 
protracted  sickness,  reverses,  hard  strug- 
gles, death  of  loved  ones,  till  all  the  waves 
and  billows  passed  over  her  and  she  was 
left  crushed  and  alone  in  the  world.  For  a 
time  she  prayed  that  she  too  might  die. 
Then  there  came  into  her  life  a  wonderful 
experience  of  the  Saviour's  presence  and 
love,  and  out  of  her  unspeakable  bereave- 
ment and  sorrow  she  came  forth  to  dedicate 
her  life  to  helping  others.  I  shall  never 
forget  that  life-story,  as  she  told  it  that 
night.  The  memory  of  it  has  helped  me  all 
these  years  to  lead  a  better  life. 

But  I  must  tell  some  of  the  incidents  that 
come  to  my  mind  as  I  think  of  Aunt 
Dorcas. 

You  will  remember  that  in  one  of  the 
earlier  chapters  of  these  reminiscences  I 
spoke  of  Harry  Weeks.  He  was  the  poor 
fellow  who  had  been  a  drunkard  before  he 
was  converted  and  who  fell  once  after  he 
joined  the  church.  You  will  also  recall  that 
Doctor  Spear  and  Deacon  Stearns  wanted 
L  161 


ttbe  Cburcb  at  XtbertBvtUe 

to  have  him  excluded  from  the  church,  and 
Deacon  Perkins  and  Charley  Goodwill 
pleaded  for  him  and  prevented  such  action. 
But  there  was  a  very  interesting  incident 
connected  with  this  case  of  Harry  Weeks, 
which  has  vividly  come  to  my  mind  as  I 
have  been  thinking  of  Aunt  Dorcas. 

It  occurred  at  the  prayer-meeting  the 
week  after  the  deacons  had  been  consid- 
ering the  report  made  by  Deacon  Stearns 
and  Doctor  Spear.  Just  before  the  close  of 
the  meeting  Harry  arose  with  some  hesita- 
tion and  said :  "  If  you  are  willing  to  hear 
me  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words." 

"  We  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  you, 
Brother  Weeks,"  replied  the  pastor. 

Then  he  went  on :  "I  am  ashamed  to 
stand  here  before  you.  I  know  I  am  a 
miserable  sinner  and  that  I  have  disgraced 
myself  and  the  church,  but  I  believe  the 
Lord  has  forgiven  me  and  I  have  vowed 
to  him  that  I  will  never  touch  liquor  again. 
I  know  I  deserved  to  be  turned  out  of  the 
church,  and  I  am  very  grateful  to  the  dea- 
cons for  deciding  to  give  me  another 
chance,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  owe 
everything  to  Aunt  Dorcas.  I  started  down 
the  street  from  the  place  where  I  room 
last  Monday  night,  and  had  gone  but  a 
162 


Dorcas 

block  or  two  when  I  met  Deacon  Stearns 
going  to  the  deacons'  meeting.  I  knew  he 
was  on  the  committee,  as  he  had  been  to 
see  me.  I  asked  him  what  the  deacons  were 
going  to  do,  and  he  said  there  was  only 
one  thing  that  could  be  done.  That  my 
sin  was  so  disgraceful  that  the  honor  of 
the  church  and  the  good  of  the  cause  de- 
manded my  exclusion  from  the  church.  I 
knew  I  deserved  it.  I  could  not  say  a  word. 
I  wished  I  was  dead.  I  started  on  down- 
town. I  was  completely  discouraged.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  there  was  no  use  in  try- 
ing any  more.  I  thought  of  the  boys  down 
at  Murphy's  saloon,  and  the  welcome  I 
could  have  there,  and  I  said,  '  I'll  go  back 
to  my  old  life  and  I  won't  try  to  be  decent 
any  longer.'  Just  then  some  one  spoke, 
'  Good  evening,  Harry.'  I  looked  up  and 
there  at  her  gate  stood  Aunt  Dorcas.  I 
guess  she  saw  I  was  in  trouble,  for  she 
reached  out  her  hand  and  took  mine  and 
said:  '  Are  you  in  a  hurry?  If  not,  I  wish 
you  would  come  in  a  few  minutes,  I  want 
to  have  a  little  talk  with  you.'  Murphy's 
place  began  to  lose  its  attraction  at  once. 
I  went  in  and  sat  down  and  she  looked  at 
me  just  as  my  mother  used  to  look,  and  with 
tears  in  her  eyes  she  said :  '  Harry,  you  are 
163 


Gbe  Cbutcb  at 

not  going  to  give  up,  are  you  ? '  I  said, 
'  Aunt  Dorcas,  there's  no  use.  I've  disgraced 
everybody.  Deacon  Stearns  says  they  are 
going  to  turn  me  out  of  the  church ;  every- 
body will  look  down  on  me,  and  I've  about 
made  up  my  mind  that  there  is  no  place 
for  me  except  the  old  life.'  '  O  Harry,' 
she  replied,  '  you  must  not  talk  that  way. 
I'll  do  everything  I  can  to  help  you,  and  you 
have  lots  of  friends  who  will  stand  by  you. 
You  will  lose  everything  if  you  turn  back. 
You  have  had  too  much  of  that  old  life. 
The  Master  loves  you  just  as  well  as  ever, 
and  he  will  help  you,'  and  then  she  said: 
'  Harry,  let's  kneel  and  tell  him  all  about 
it.'  We  knelt  and  such  a  prayer  I  never 
heard  before.  As  she  went  on  praying  my 
heart  began  to  melt.  I  first  decided  that  I 
would  not  go  to  Murphy's;  then  I  said  in 
my  heart  that  I  would  try  again.  Then  I 
thought  of  the  church,  and  as  she  went  on 
pleading  I  said  that  no  matter  what  hap- 
pened— even  though  I  should  be  turned  out 
of  the  church — I  would  never  give  up. 
And  then  when  she  stopped  she  said: 
'  Harry,  won't  you  try  to  pray  too?  '  Well, 
I  prayed  as  best  I  could,  and  the  Lord  has 
had  mercy  on  me.  And  here  I  am.  I 
can't  tell  you  how  thankful  I  am  that  I  am 
164 


Bunt  2>orca6 

still  a  member  of  the  church,  and  that  I  met 
Aunt  Dorcas  last  Monday  night." 

Harry  Weeks  is  a  prosperous  business 
man  now  and  for  a  number  of  years  has 
given  very  large  sums  to  Aunt  Dorcas  to 
help  her  in  her  work  for  the  needy. 

Aunt  Dorcas  was  a  great  favorite  among 
the  young  people,  and  knew  how  to  help 
and  encourage  them  in  their  work.  When 
they  asked  the  privilege  of  organizing  a 
young  people's  society,  Deacon  Stearns  was 
much  opposed  to  it.  He  said  in  the  busi- 
ness meeting  when  the  matter  was  being  dis- 
cussed :  "  I've  been  a  member  of  a  regular 
Baptist  church  for  forty  years  and  a  deacon 
for  twenty-five  years,  and  the  church  has 
always  been  good  enough  for  me.  It  looks 
to  me  as  though  the  young  people  think 
they  can  improve  upon  the  New  Testament 
plan,  and  that  they  know  more  than  the 
older  members  of  the  church.  With  the 
women  organized,  and  the  children  organ- 
ized, and  the  young  people  organized,  I 
would  like  to  know  where  the  church  is 
coming  in.  What  is  the  use  of  having  a 
church?" 

When  he  had  taken  his  seat,  there  was  a 
hesitancy  on  the  part  of  others  to  speak. 
Charley  Goodwill  started  to  get  up  and 
165 


Cburcb  at 

then  stopped.  It  was  evident  that  the  lead- 
ers among  the  young  people  were  greatly 
disturbed,  but  did  not  dare  to  trust  them- 
selves to  speak.  Then  Aunt  Dorcas,  who 
rarely  ever  spoke  on  business  matters,  arose, 
and  with  a  smile  on  her  face  and  winsome- 
ness  in  her  voice  said :  "  I  love  the  young 
people,  and  believe  in  them  with  all  my 
heart,  and  I  am  so  glad  they  want  to 
do  more  work  for  the  Master.  And  with 
dear  Deacon  Stearns  I  love  the  church  too, 
more  than  I  can  tell,  but  I  have  not  thought 
of  a  young  people's  society  as  any  more 
separate  from  the  church  than  the  Sunday- 
school  or  my  pastor's  helpers.  I  think  the 
young  people  want  to  band  themselves  to- 
gether simply  to  help  the  church,  and  that 
by  doing  this  they  will  love  the  church  all 
the  more  and  get  closer  to  it.  I  too  have 
been  in  the  church  a  good  many  years,  and 
have  often  felt  that  something  needed  to 
be  done  to  call  out  our  young  people  and 
make  them  a  greater  power  in  the  kingdom, 
and  I  believe  that  this  movement  among 
the  young  people  is  of  the  Lord,  and  is  full 
of  promise  for  the  church,  and  that  we 
ought  to  keep  very  close  to  our  young 
people  and  encourage  them  in  every  way 
possible." 

166 


Bunt  Dorcas 

The  vote  was  then  taken,  and  not  even 
Deacon  Stearns  opposed  it,  although  I 
think  he  did  not  vote  for  it. 

Dear  Aunt  Dorcas,  everybody  loved  her 
and  the  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
used  to  go  to  her  with  all  their  troubles,  and 
she  comforted  and  counseled  them  and 
saved  them  from  many  mistakes.  I  recall 
one  evening  when  she  was  at  our  house,  she 
told  us  of  a  very  interesting  experience. 
She  used  to  talk  freely  in  our  home.  She 
would  say :  "  Now,  Brother  and  Sister 
Bradley,  you  know  I  must  tell  somebody. 
I  must  talk,  and  I  know  you  never  tell  my 
secrets  to  anybody."  We  were  glad  to  have 
her  feel  such  confidence  in  us  and  to  be 
able  to  be  of  some  help  to  her. 

I  will  tell  the  story  as  nearly  as  I  can 
as  she  told  it  to  us.  I  am  sure  she  would 
not  object  to  my  telling  it  now : 

"Well,"  began  Aunt  Dorcas,  "I  must 
tell  you  what  a  time  I  have  had  saving  Anna 
Ward,  dear  girl,  from  serious  trouble.  She 
came  running  into  my  room  about  a  week 
ago  and  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  something 
was  wrong.  '  O  Aunt  Dorcas ! '  she  said, 
'  what  shall  I  do?  I  don't  dare  to  tell  papa 
or  mamma,  or  anybody.  I  know  I  am 
awfully  wicked,  but  I  just  can't  help  it. 
167 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at 

You  don't  think  we  can  help  falling  in  love, 
do  you,  Aunt  Dorcas?  I  know  you  don't. 
Well,  I'm  in  love — madly,  desperately  in 
love — with  Dan  Woodward,  and  I  am  go- 
ing to  marry  him.  Fin  going  to  run  away 
with  him  next  Wednesday  night.'  And 
then  she  threw  her  arms  about  my  neck  and 
burst  into  tears.  I  felt  terribly,  because  you 
know  Dan  Woodward  has  only  been  here 
about  six  months,  and  I  have  heard  very 
unsatisfactory  rumors  about  him.  But 
then,  he  is  a  fine-looking,  dashing  young 
fellow,  just  the  kind  to  attract  such  an  im- 
pulsive, sentimental  girl  as  Anna.  But  I 
knew  if  I  said  anything  against  him  she 
would  resent  it  and  cling  to  him  all  the 
closer,  so  I  kissed  her  and  said : 

"  '  Yes,  dear ;  it  is  natural  that  you  should 
fall  in  love,  and  Dan  is  certainly  a  fine-look- 
ing young  man;  but  I  don't  quite  like  the 
idea  of  your  running  away,  as  though  you 
were  doing  something  to  be  ashamed  of.' 

" '  I'm  not  ashamed  of  it,  Aunt  Dorcas, 
but  I  know  papa  and  mamma  would  never 
consent,  and  so  there  is  no  other  way,  and 
then  Dan  says  they  will  soon  forgive  us,  and 
we  can  come  back  here  and  live  and  every- 
thing will  be  all  lovely.  Don't  you  think 
that  will  be  the  way  of  it,  Aunt  Dorcas  ? ' 
168 


Bunt  Dorcae 

"  I  shook  my  head  and  said :  '  I  don't 
know,  dearest;  it  is  serious  business.  But 
let  me  tell  you  something  which  happened 
when  I  was  a  girl.' 

1 '  Did  you   run   away  with   some   one, 
Aunt  Dorcas?' 

" '  No,  dear,  but  I  had  a  friend  who  did. 
Jennie  Bright  was  my  very  dearest  girl 
friend.  You  often  remind  me  of  her.  A 
handsome  young  fellow  by  the  name  of 
Donald  DeLong  came  to  our  place  and  at- 
tended our  church,  and  in  less  than  six 
months  Jennie  was  greatly  in  love  with  him, 
and  had  promised  to  be  his  wife.  She  told 
me  everything,  but  somehow  I  was  anxious 
and  was  afraid  she  did  not  know  him  well 
enough.' 

"  'Are  you  afraid,  Aunt  Dorcas,  that  I 
don't  know  Dan  well  enough  ?  Any  one  can 
see  that  Dan  is  all  right.' 

" '  That  is  just  what  Jennie  said  about 
Donald.  When  he  spoke  to  Mr.  Bright, 
Jennie's  father,  about  it,  he  told  him  that  he 
would  let  him  have  his  answer  in  a  few 
weeks.' 

'"Oh,  I  have  told  Dan  that  I  wished 
he  would  talk  with  papa  about  it,  but  he 
says  it  is  lots  better  to  do  the  talking  after 
we  are  married.' 

169 


ttbe  Cburcb  at 

"  '  The  next  week  Jennie  and  Donald  ran 
away  and  were  married.  She  did  not  tell 
me  a  thing  about  it  beforehand.  She  wrote 
me  afterward  that  Donald  did  not  want  her 
to.  Mrs.  Bright  sent  for  me  as  soon  as  Jen- 
nie had  gone.  Anna,  I  never  saw  such  grief 
before.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bright  were  both 
heartbroken.  "  Oh,"  cried  Mrs.  Bright,  be- 
tween her  sobs,  "  Jennie  was  always  such  a 
good,  sweet  girl,  and  all  we  wanted  was 
time  to  look  up  Donald's  record  to  be  sure 
that  everything  was  all  right.  We  tried  to 
explain  all  this  to  her.  How  could  she  do 
this?  How  could  she  break  our  hearts? 
Poor,  dear  girl ;  she  could  not  have  realized 
what  she  was  doing."  Mr.  Bright  did  not 
say  much,  but  he  put  his  arm  around  me 
and  kissed  me  and  said :  "  Dorcas,  death 
would  have  been  easier  than  this." ' 

" '  O  Aunt  Dorcas ;  do  you  suppose  my 
papa  and  mamma  would  feel  like  that  ?  Oh, 
dear,  what  shall  I  do  ?  ' 

" '  Wait,  Anna ;  let  me  tell  you  the  rest 
of  the  story.  I  got  a  letter  in  a  few  days 
from  the  South,  where  they  had  gone,  tell- 
ing me  how  happy  she  was  and  how  good 
Donald  was,  and  urging  me  to  make  matters 
all  right  with  her  folks.' 

"  '  So  everything  came  out  all  right.  I  am 
170 


Bunt  Dorcas 

so  glad.  That  is  the  way  it  will  be  with 
Dan  and  me,  and,  Aunt  Dorcas,  you  will 
make  it  all  right  with  mamma  and  papa, 
won't  you  ? '  and  she  hugged  and  kissed  me 
before  I  could  go  on. 

'  Wait,  Anna ;  you  must  hear  the 
rest  of  it  before  you  ask  me  to  make  any 
promises.  It  was  six  weeks  before  I  got 
another  letter.  It  was  the  saddest,  most 
distressing  letter  I  ever  received.  It  be- 
gan :  "  O  Dorcas,  what  can  I  do  ?  How 
can  I  tell  you?  I  am  completely  crushed. 
How  I  wish  I  could  die.  Donald  is  a 
gambler."  And  then  the  letter  told  the 
whole  wretched  story.'  '  You  don't  think 
Dan  is  a  gambler,  do  you,  Aunt  Dorcas  ? ' 
exclaimed  Anna  with  a  scared  look  on  her 
face.  But  I  went  on  about  Jennie.  '  Her 
folks  wrote  for  her  to  come  home,  but  she 
was  too  proud  to  do  that,  and  she  clung 
to  her  husband  for  more  than  a  year,  and 
then  he  deserted  her,  and  poor,  heartbroken 
Jennie,  with  a  little  baby  girl,  came  back 
to  her  old  home,  but  oh,  so  changed !  Her 
life  was  blighted,  the  sunshine  was  all  gone, 
and  she  lived  but  a  few  years.' 

"  When  I  finished,  Anna  sat  still  for  a 
little  while,  looking  me  in  the  face.     Her 
large,  black  eyes  were  pathetic  with  tears, 
171 


Cbc  Cburcb  at  OLibcrtmnllc 

but  the  lines  about  her  mouth  showed  a 
forming  decision.  Then  she  spoke :  '  Aunt 
Dorcas,  I'm  not  going  to  run  away  with 
Dan.  I  love  him,  and  if  he  really  loves  me, 
he  will  tell  papa  and  mamma  all  about  it.'  " 

I  learned  from  Aunt  Dorcas,  later,  that 
Dan  positively  refused  to  speak  to  Anna's 
parents  about  it.  A  few  weeks  afterwards 
he  left  town,  taking  over  one  thousand 
dollars  of  his  employer's  money  with  him. 

Aunt  Dorcas'  life  abounded  in  helpful- 
ness everywhere.  My  memory  is  full  of  in- 
cidents of  the  beautiful,  tactful,  loving 
things  which  she  did. 


XIV 
"Rules  anD  IRcaulationa 

Wheels  without  and  wheels  within, 
Wheels  of  good  and  wheels  of  sin; 
Wheels  that  help  the  world  along, 
And  wheels  that  keep  things  going  wrong. 

|EV.  EZRA  ADAMS  was  a  great 
organizer.     When  he  became  our 
pastor  he   insisted   that   the  most 
urgent  need  of  the  church  was  a  thorough 
reorganization.    His  first  move  was  to  have 
172 


and 

us  adopt  an  entirely  new  set  of  rules.  He 
said,  "  The  way  to  avoid  church  troubles 
is  to  have  rules  that  meet  all  cases  which 
may  come  up."  And  so  we  attempted  to 
make  and  adopt  rules  to  cover  every 
conceivable  phase  of  church  life. 

Judge  Straight,  who  was  in  favor  of  the 
move,  said  half -jestingly  before  we  got 
through :  "  I  fear  we  shall  need  a  special 
body  of  scribes  and  lawyers  to  study  and 
interpret  these  rules."  And  Deacon  Stearns 
thought  we  were  departing  from  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  gospel.  But  I  noticed  that 
after  a  few  months  had  elapsed,  we  fell  back 
into  the  old  ways  of  doing  business  which 
had  prevailed  before  we  adopted  the  new 
rules. 

Having  got  the  rules  fixed  up,  Pastor 
Adams  proceeded  to  the  work  of  organiza- 
tion. He  organized  the  boys,  and  the  girls, 
and  the  young  people,  and  the  juniors,  and 
the  young  women,  and  the  young  men,  and 
the  men,  and  the  women,  and  had  fifteen 
standing  committees,  besides  captains  of 
tens  and  colonels  of  fifties.  The  plan  of 
organization  with  the  names  of  all  the  com- 
mittees and  officers  was  published  in  a 
monthly  church  paper.  This  paper  was  paid 
for  by  advertisements. 
173 


Gburcb  at  Xibettgvtlle 

There  were  some  objections  to  this  way 
of  meeting  the  expenses  of  the  publication. 
Deacon  Perkins  said  at  one  of  our  business 
meetings :  "  I  have  reason  to  know  that  the 
business  men  do  not  regard  our  church 
paper,  as  a  good  advertising  medium,  and  I 
fear  we  are  not  helping  our  church  any  by 
urging  them  to  advertise  in  it." 

"Yes,"  added  Deacon  Smith,  "Mr. 
Cook,  of  Cook  &  Hastings,  said  to  me  a 
day  or  two  ago  that  he  regarded  the  se- 
curing of  that  kind  of  advertising  as  a 
straight  '  hold-up  scheme.'  And  he  said 
that  since  our  church  had  begun  it  all  the 
other  churches  were  going  into  it,  and  many 
of  the  business  men  were  becoming  dis- 
gusted and  saying  some  uncomplimentary 
things  about  the  churches." 

"  It  is  not  the  business  side  of  it  that 
disturbs  me,"  said  Doctor  Spear.  "  They 
do  not  have  to  take  advertisements  unless 
they  want  to,  but  I  object  to  having  an  ad- 
vertising sheet  distributed  in  the  church  on 
Sunday  morning,  to  be  read  during  the  time 
of  public  worship." 

But  I  did  not  intend  to  speak  of  this 
church  paper.  It  did  not,  however,  con- 
tinue very  long.  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to 
say  it,  but  some  of  us  felt  that  Brother 
174 


TRules  and  "Regulations 

Adams  was  much  more  gifted  in  starting 
things  than  he  was  in  keeping  them  going. 
He  thought  the  trouble  was  with  the  church, 
but  I  think  some  of  the  trouble  was  in  the 
fact  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  demand 
for  a  good  many  of  his  committees  and 
organizations. 

It  was  during  his  pastorate  that  trouble 
began  with  this  matter  of  organizations, 
which  extended  over  a  period  of  several 
years.  The  Sunday-school  and  nearly  all 
the  societies  and  clubs  were  organized  en- 
tirely independently  of  the  church,  and  fre- 
quently there  was  a  conflict  of  dates  and 
plans.  The  most  trouble,  however,  arose 
between  the  three  women's  societies.  The 
foreign  mission  circle  was  first  organized. 
Mrs.  Paulson  was  at  the  head  of  this,  and 
was  an  intelligent  and  excellent  woman,  but 
she  talked  foreign  missions  so  much  that 
some  grew  tired  of  the  whole  subject. 

One  evening  in  the  prayer-meeting  after 
enlarging  upon  the  needs  of  Africa,  and 
the  unresponsiveness  of  the  church  at  home, 
she  said  what  she  had  often  said  before: 
"  The  regret  of  my  life  is  that  my  health 
failed  when  I  was  a  young  woman  and  I 
was  unable  to  go  to  the  foreign  field." 
Mrs.  Sharp,  who  sat  next  to  Mrs.  Bradley, 
175 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Htbertgville 

remarked  so  that  several  heard  her :  "It  is 
a  regret  in  which  many  of  us  share."  But 
I  must  say  that  Mrs.  Sharp  was  lacking 
in  interest  in  foreign  missions.  When 
asked  to  join  the  foreign  mission  circle  she 
replied :  "  When  we  get  Squatters'  Ranch 
converted  I'll  come  in."  Mrs.  Paulson  said 
to  her :  "  Squatters'  Ranch  is  not  a  drop 
in  the  bucket  compared  to  China's  millions. 
And  what  is  more,  we  can  never  evangelize 
the  home  field  until  we  have  a  consuming 
desire  to  save  those  who  are  far  away  in 
heathen  darkness.  The  church  at  home 
is  becoming  powerless  because  of  its 
narrowness." 

"That  is  not  the  trouble,"  said  Mrs. 
Church,  who  was  present  and  always  ready 
to  oppose  foreign  missions ;  "  we  are  dis- 
sipating our  energies  when  we  ought  to  be 
concentrating  them  upon  the  heathen  at 
home." 

Shortly  after  this  talk,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  society,  Mrs.  Peters,  the  daughter  of  a 
pioneer  preacher,  said :  "  I  have  been  think- 
ing over  this  matter  for  some  time  and  have 
been  talking  with  some  of  the  ladies  and 
find  that  they  feel  just  as  I  do.  I  believe 
that  the  time  has  come  when  we  as  women 
ought  to  do  some  home  mission  work.  I 
176 


TRules  an&  TRcgulations 

have  just  been  reading  about  Miss  Moore's 
work  among  the  Negroes,  and  also  the 
condition  among  the  Indians  and  among 
the  foreigners  and  in  the  neglected  portions 
of  our  own  land.  I  propose  hereafter  to 
do  what  I  can  for  the  heathen  in  our  own 
country.  I  invite  all  the  ladies  who  want 
to  help  organize  a  home  mission  circle  to 
meet  at  my  home  to-morrow  at  three 
o'clock.  I  have  talked  with  the  pastor  about 
this,  and  he  is  in  favor  of  it." 

Mrs.  Paulson  at  once  replied :  "  I  regret 
exceedingly  to  hear  Mrs.  Peters  speak  as 
she  does.  This  is  no  time  to  divide  our 
forces.  The  calls  from  India  have  never 
before  been  so  urgent.  The  Lord  is  won- 
derfully opening  the  doors.  I  believe  in 
home  missions,  but  just  think  of  the  op- 
portunities which  everybody  here  has  to 
hear  the  gospel,  and  then  think  of  the 
millions  in  heathen  darkness  pleading  for 
missionaries.  I  am  sure  this  is  a  very  great 
mistake,  and  I  hope  none  of  the  sisters  will 
help  to  organize  another  society  and  so 
divide  our  forces  and  do  harm." 

Mrs.   Peters  was  about  to  speak  when 

Mrs.  Church  arose.  "  I  think  now  is  a  good 

time   for   me   to   say   a   word.     There    is 

a  whole  lot  of  things  needed  around  this 

M  177 


fcbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbertsville 

church  to  make  it  decent,  and  there  is  no 
money  to  get  them.  Then  there  is  the  day 
nursery  and  the  mission  Sunday-school,  and 
half  a  dozen  other  things  right  here  needing 
help.  I  suppose  this  other  mission  work  is 
good  enough  for  those  who  can  afford  it, 
but  for  one  I  think  charity  ought  to  begin  at 
home,  and  I  am  in  favor  of  having  a 
woman's  aid  society.  I  know  a  neighbor 
of  mine  who  spends  her  whole  time  run- 
ning around  looking  after  other  folks'  af- 
fairs and  letting  her  own  home  go,  and  I 
think  that  is  about  the  way  we  women  are 
doing  in  our  church  work.  I  want  all  those 
who  would  like  to  help  form  an  aid  society 
to  meet  at  my  home  at  two  o'clock  Friday." 
The  discussion  which  followed  was  more 
spirited  and  personal  than  helpful,  and  when 
the  meeting  adjourned  Mrs.  Paulson  and 
Mrs.  Peters  did  not  speak  to  each  other. 
Both  of  the  other  societies  were  duly 
started,  and  shortly  afterward  a  woman, 
whom  I  think  they  called  an  associational 
director,  came  and  organized  a  young 
woman's  foreign  mission  society  and  a  chil- 
dren's band.  Later  another  came  and  or- 
ganized a  young  woman's  home  mission 
society  and  also  a  baby  band.  At  first  the 
women  attempted  to  collect  only  two  cents 
178 


IRules  and  IRegulations 

a  week  from  each  one  for  missions;  but 
soon  all  sorts  of  special  appeals  began  com- 
ing in,  until  more  money  went  through  the 
treasuries  of  the  women's  circles  for  mis- 
sions than  was  given  direct  by  the  church. 
In  fact,  the  women  and  young  people  al- 
most entirely  stopped  giving  through  the 
church  treasury.  In  the  meantime,  Mrs. 
Church  had  inaugurated  a  series  of  enter- 
tainments and  suppers  to  raise  money  for 
the  aid  society. 

Deacon  Perkins  said  to  me :  "  I  don't  be- 
lieve in  turning  the  church  into  a  show- 
house  and  a  restaurant,"  and  I  heard  a 
good  many  complaining  about  being  urged 
to  buy  tickets  at  all  the  services  of  the 
church. 

At  one  of  our  advisory  board  meetings 
about  this  time,  Judge  Straight  said :  "  I 
am  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the  way  our 
church  work  is  carried  on.  Our  different 
societies  are  too  independent  of  the  church 
and  of  each  other,  and  I  fear  they  are  tend- 
ing to  division.  But  I  confess  that  I  do 
not  know  what  should  be  done." 

"  It    is    plain    enough    to    me,"    Deacon 

Stearns  answered,  "  I  am  opposed  to  all 

these  societies.    The  church  is  good  enough 

for  me.    The  women  are  making  a  regular 

179 


£be  Cburcb  at 

mess  of  it.  We've  got  to  get  back  to  Paul's 
method  of  regulating  them,  or  there  will 
never  be  any  peace." 

Charley  Goodwill  now  spoke :  "  Well,  if 
we  suppress  the  young  people  and  the 
women  we  will  not  have  much  left.  Of 
course  I  recognize  that  there  is  something 
in  what  Judge  Straight  says,  and  I  am  in 
favor  of  having  the  societies  work  more 
under  the  direction  of  the  church  and  more 
in  harmony  with  each  other.  I  think  when 
the  speakers  who  come  here  to  the  State 
Convention  have  been  heard  we  will  have 
no  trouble  in  fixing  matters  up." 

The  State  Convention  to  which  Charley 
Goodwill  referred  was  to  meet  in  Liberty- 
ville  in  October.  It  came  and  was  a  great 
meeting.  I  was  chairman  of  the  entertain- 
ment committee,  and  had  some  very  inter- 
esting experiences.  There  were  lots  of  nice 
people  who  came,  for  whom  it  was  a  pleas- 
ure to  provide  entertainment.  There  were 
some,  however,  who  had  to  be  changed  and 
assigned  four  times  before  they  would  stay 
where  they  were  sent,  and  then  they  com- 
plained a  good  deal.  Mrs.  Sharp  said: 
"  Deacon  Bradley,  if  I  were  on  that  com- 
mittee I  would  send  them  back  home  and 
see  if  they  would  have  sense  enough  to 
180 


"Rules  and  "Regulations 

stay  there,  for  that  is  evidently  where  they 
belong." 

I  confess  that  it  did  me  good  to  hear 
her  talk  that  way.  Then  I  heard  of  some 
who  had  accepted  entertainment  who  did 
not  attend  any  of  the  meetings,  but  spent 
their  time  trading  and  sightseeing.  They 
told  the  folks  where  they  were  stopping, 
"  We  don't  care  much  for  the  Convention, 
and  as  we  cannot  get  to  Libertyville  very 
often,  we  want  to  improve  our  time."  But 
I  did  not  refer  to  the  Convention  in  order 
to  tell  these  things,  but  to  speak  of  the 
missionary  addresses  and  their  effect  upon 
our  church. 

Doctor  Hoag,  a  fine-looking,  venerable- 
appearing  man,  delivered  the  first  of  these 
addresses.  He  was  home  mission  secretary, 
and  his  theme  was  "  The  Fundamental  Re- 
quirement in  Missions."  He  made  an  ex- 
ceedingly strong  appeal  for  work  in  Amer- 
ica. Mrs.  Peters  said  to  me,  "  That  was 
the  best  speech  I  ever  heard.  I  wonder 
how  it  made  Mrs.  Paulson  feel?"  Doctor 
Hoag  said,  among  many  other  things :  "  I 
believe  in  foreign  missions,  but  America  is 
God's  chosen  land.  Out  from  this  country 
must  go  the  influences  to  save  the  world. 
We  must  save  America  or  all  is  lost.  For- 
181 


Cburcb  at 

eigners  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  are 
coming  to  our  shores.  If  we  can  save  them, 
then  we  can  hope  to  reach  those  in  distant 
lands.  Our  supreme,  our  fundamental  work 
is  to  take  America  for  Christ."  It  was 
a  most  convincing  effort,  and  I  felt  a  good 
deal  of  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  Mrs. 
Bradley  had  encouraged  Mrs.  Peters  in  her 
work. 

At  the  very  next  session  Doctor  Taxman 
spoke  for  foreign  missions.  He  was  a  man 
of  beautiful  spirit  and  great  earnestness, 
and  spoke  with  much  feeling.  His  topic 
was,  "  The  First  Duty  of  the  Church."  As 
he  portrayed  the  awful  and  pathetic  con- 
dition of  the  heathen,  many  in  the  audi- 
ence were  moved  to  tears.  He  said :  "  I  be- 
lieve in  home  missions,  and  will  take  a  sec- 
ond place  to  none  in  love  for  my  native 
land,  but  we  can  never  save  this  land  unless 
we  have  a  deep  love  for  all  lands.  If  we 
are  unfaithful  to  the  heathen,  God  will  pass 
us  by.  The  first  duty  of  the  church  is  to 
carry  out  the  Great  Commission  and  go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  The  church  in  many  places 
is  dying  because  of  the  narrowness  of  its 
vision."  It  was  another  strong  address, 
and  as  I  listened  to  it  I  made  up  my  mind 
182 


•Rules  anD  "Regulations 

to  encourage  Mrs.  Bradley  to  join  Mrs. 
Paulson's  society  too.  I  heard  Mrs.  Paul- 
son remark  to  Charley  Goodwill,  "  I  hope 
that  after  listening  to  that  address  Mrs. 
Peters  will  see  things  in  their  true  light." 

That  evening  the  principal  speech  was  by 
our  State  missionary,  Doctor  Grim.  He 
was  an  impetuous,  enthusiastic  speaker,  and 
carried  everything  by  storm.  His  subject 
was,  "  The  Unit  in  Our  Work."  Accepting 
and  emphasizing  everything  that  Doctor 
Hoag  had  urged  about  America,  he  said: 
"  I  believe  in  home  and  foreign  missions, 
but  the  State  is  the  unit  of  American  life. 
We  are  responsible  for  this  State  as  for 
no  other  portion  of  the  globe.  Nobody  else 
is  coming  in  here  to  save  this  State.  We 
must  evangelize  it  or  it  will  not  be  evangel- 
ized. If  we  would  have  churches  to  sup- 
port home  and  foreign  missions  we  must 
plant  and  nurture  them  right  here  in  our 
State.  The  women  are  organized  for  for- 
eign and  home  and  church  work;  why  do 
they  not  organize  for  State  work?  "  "  That 
is  a  new  idea,"  I  heard  Mrs.  Smith  say. 
"  I  will  look  into  that  as  soon  as  the  Con- 
vention is  over."  It  was  a  rousing  effort, 
and  when  Doctor  Grim  appealed  for  money 
to  make  up  the  deficit  on  the  year's  work 
183 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

the  delegates  pledged  their  churches  liber- 
ally. But  I  learned  afterward  that  many 
of  the  churches  refused  to  approve  the  ac- 
tion and  there  was  a  large  shrinkage  in  the 
pledges. 

The  next  day  Doctor  Mann  spoke  on  city 
missions.  His  topic  was,  "  Beginning  at 
Jerusalem."  He  was  a  man  noted  for  his 
self-sacrificing  work,  and  his  character  gave 
great  weight  to  his  words.  He  began: 
"  I  believe  in  all  the  missionary  causes  which 
have  been  so  ably  presented,  and  find  great 

joy  in  contributing  to  them,  but ."     I 

wondered  that  each  of  these  brethren 
thought  it  necessary  to  declare  his  belief 
in  the  other  causes.  It  seemed  to  me  that  it 
would  have  been  better  if  he  had  let  that 
be  taken  for  granted.  "  But,"  he  went  on 
to  say,  "  the  American  city  is  the  storm- 
center  of  modern  life.  The  cities  are  grow- 
ing with  unparalleled  rapidity.  The  forces 
of  evil  are  congregating  here.  The  church 
of  God  is  losing  ground  in  these  centers. 
We  must  strengthen  our  city  churches  and 
redouble  our  efforts.  The  destiny  of  our 
beloved  republic,  the  destiny  of  the  world 
depends  upon  these  cities,  and  now  is  the 
time  to  save  them."  It  was  a  most  re- 
markable address.  I  heard  Mrs.  Church 
184 


•Rules  anD  'Reflulatfong 

remark  to  Mrs.  Sharp :  "  I  guess  that  settles 
it.  I  don't  believe  we'll  hear  much  more 
from  Mrs.  Paulson  and  Mrs.  Peters  with 
their  absurd  notions  about  missions." 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  tell  about  other 
addresses  that  were  made,  but  it  turned 
out  that  the  State  Convention  only  made 
matters  worse  in  our  church.  There  were 
one  or  two  more  societies  organized,  and 
each  one  seemed  more  zealous  than  ever  in 
its  particular  work.  This  went  on  until 
Rev.  James  Brown  became  our  pastor. 
He  not  only  reorganized  the  choir,  as  I  have 
already  related,  but  also  the  church.  He 
had  not  been  with  us  long  before  he  called 
the  official  board  together  and  said :  "  I  am 
not  satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  this 
church  is  organized.  We  have  too  many 
societies  and  committees.  It  takes  all  our 
energy  to  keep  the  machinery  going.  My 
idea  is  that  there  ought  to  be  no  societies 
in  the  church.  The  different  kinds  of  work 
should  be  looked  after  by  departmental  com- 
mittees." In  the  discussion  which  followed 
Judge  Straight  said :  "  I  have  been  disturbed 
by  the  confusion  and  lack  of  business  har- 
mony in  our  church  and  am  disposed  to 
favor  the  pastor's  plan." 

Mr.  Banks,  the  treasurer,  added:  "If 
185 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at  Ztbertsvtlte 

this  plan  means  that  all  moneys  collected 
by  the  young  people  and  by  the  women  and 
by  all  other  societies  are  to  pass  through 
the  church  treasury,  I  am  heartily  in  favor 
of  it.  We  now  have  seven  different  treas- 
urers handling  money  in  this  church." 

"  Well,"  answered  Charley  Goodwill,  "  I 
have  an  idea  they  are  handling  a  good  deal 
more  than  would  be  handled  if  we  had  but 
one  treasurer.  I  am  not  worried  so  much 
about  these  different  societies  as  some  are. 
I  think  they  are  doing  good.  We  can  never 
all  see  things  alike.  I  believe  in  division  of 
labor  and  in  letting  people  work  where 
they  are  interested.  Still,  I  shall  not  oppose 
the  pastor's  plan." 

"  I  am  sure,"  exclaimed  Deacon  Stearns, 
"  that  we  have  greatly  departed  from  the 
simplicity  of  the  gospel.  Our  young  people 
ought  to  be  in  subjection  to  their  elders, 
and  the  women  ought  to  learn  in  silence  at 
home  of  their  husbands,  instead  of  chasing 
after  clubs  and  circles  and  the  like."  "  Yes," 
added  Bro.  Jeremiah  Payne,  "  I  think 
these  are  some  of  the  signs  of  the  times 
and  evidences  of  the  manifestation  of  the 
Man  of  Sin." 

The  result  of  it  all  was  that  we  finally 
by  a  small  majority  vote  adopted  a  new  set 
186 


a  ffaitblul  Steward 

of  rules  and  did  away  with  all  societies  in 
the  church.  We  had  great  trouble  in  find- 
ing persons  to  serve  on  the  different  com- 
mittees. When  it  came  to  that  on  woman's 
work,  Mrs.  Sharp  suggested  that  Deacon 
Stearns  be  made  chairman.  The  deacon  re- 
plied, "  It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  some 
one  were  appointed  who  has  some  proper 
ideas  of  what  is  becoming  to  the  sex."  That 
year  was  so  full  of  confusion  and  trouble 
that  Charley  Goodwill  called  it  "  The 
Reconstruction  Period."  But  it  was  a 
reconstruction  which  did  not  reconstruct. 


XV 
B  faithful  StewarO 

Patience,  with  tact  and  good  sense  combined, 
Is  a  union  of  gifts  not  easy  to  find; 
When  found  in  a  preacher,  and  also  his  wife, 
The  church  that  he  serves  will  be  kept  free  from 
strife. 

HAVE  already  told  of  the  coming 
to  Libertyville  of  Rev.  Gideon  M. 
Mitchell.     His  call  by  the  church 
was   not    enthusiastic.      It   was,   however, 
unanimous.     I  mean  by  that,  no  one  voted 
187 


Cbe  Cbutcb  at  Xibettgville 

against  him.  I  noticed,  however,  that  sev- 
eral did  not  vote  at  all.  In  fact,  the  church 
had  become  tired,  and  many  felt  as  Mrs. 
Perkins  expressed  it,  "  We  are  ready  to  call 
anybody  who  is  respectable." 

The  new  pastor  was  not  a  brilliant 
preacher,  and  his  personal  appearance  was 
a  little  against  him.  He  was  somewhat 
stooped,  and  lacked  ease  and  grace  in  the 
pulpit.  His  voice  too  had  a  quality  which 
was  rather  unpleasant  until  one  became  ac- 
customed to  it.  But  there  was  in  all  his 
work  a  sincerity,  an  intelligence,  a  direct- 
ness, a  frankness,  a  sympathy,  and  a  manli- 
ness that  secured  for  him  the  respect,  the 
confidence,  and  the  love  of  the  people. 
Then,  if  possible,  we  thought  more  of  Mrs. 
Mitchell  than  we  did  of  him.  Aunt  Dorcas 
said  of  her :  "  She  is  one  of  the  dearest 
women  I  ever  knew.  She  always  knows  the 
right  word  to  say  and  the  best  thing  to 
do."  Hearts  were  opened  to  her,  knowing 
that  secrets  revealed  would  be  secrets  still. 
She  was  a  great  favorite  among  the  young 
people,  and  Charley  Goodwill  was  heard  to 
say:  "I  would  be  jealous  of  Mrs.  Mitchell 
if  I  did  not  think  so  much  of  her  myself; 
and  then  too,  the  young  people  seem  to 
think  more  than  ever  of  me  since  she  came." 
188 


H  f  attbful  Steward 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Mitchell  became  our 
pastor  there  was  called  by  some  one,  with- 
out consulting  him,  a  meeting  of  the  women 
of  the  church.  It  had  been  thoroughly, 
though  quietly,  worked  up,  and  the  women 
were  there  in  full  force.  After  the  meeting 
was  called  to  order,  Mrs.  Peters  was  the 
first  to  speak:  "  I  have  just  been  in  attend- 
ance at  our  Association  at  Millersburg,"  she 
said,  "  and  have  come  home  determined 
that  something  must  be  done.  The  reports 
there  given  of  the  women's  work  in  this 
church  were  simply  ridiculous.  Why,  the 
women  in  the  little  church  at  Boggville 
raised  more  money  for  home  missions  than 
we  did.  I  was  so  ashamed  that  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do." 

"  I  thoroughly  agree  with  Sister  Peters 
that  something  must  be  done,"  added  Mrs. 
Paulson.  "  Our  offerings  to  foreign  mis- 
sions were  even  less  than  to  home  missions. 
Our  young  women  are  doing  nothing,  and 
the  children  are  being  taught  nothing  about 
missions.  Our  church  will  die  if  this  awful 
neglect  goes  on.  I  believe,  now  that  we 
have  got  a  new  pastor,  we  ought  to  go 
right  ahead  and  organize  for  work.  This 
committee  plan  is  an  utter  failure." 

"I  suspect,"  replied  Mrs.  Sharp,  "that 
189 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  Xtbert^viUe 

the  reason  it  is  a  failure  is  that  nobody  has 
tried  to  work  it.  All  the  women  who  knew 
about  missions  refused  to  serve  on  the 
committees.  Think  of  my  being  chair- 
man of  such  a  committee!  I  took  the  po- 
sition because  nobody  else  would,  and  be- 
cause Deacon  Stearns  did  not  want  me  to." 

Mrs.  Sowerby  now  spoke :  "  I  too  was 
at  the  Association,  and  was  so  humiliated 
that  I  came  home  before  the  meetings  were 
over.  Mrs.  Potter,  of  Plainview,  wanted 
to  know  what  ailed  our  church,  and  I  told 
her  the  plain  truth,  that  we  were  trying  to 
work  a  fool  plan  that  the  men  had  adopted. 
I  for  one  think  we  have  let  the  men  run 
things  around  here  about  long  enough." 

It  was  generally  known  that  male  au- 
thority in  the  Sowerby  home  was  an  entirely 
negligible  quantity. 

She  went  on :  "  What  do  men  know  about 
these  things?  They  thought  they  were  in- 
stituting a  great  reform  when  they  adopted 
a  lot  of  rules  and  regulations  to  keep  the 
women  from  running  off  with  the  church. 
I  am  in  favor  of  just  telling  them  to  mind 
their  own  business,  and  then  go  ahead  and 
organize  for  our  work.  That  is  the  way  I 
have  to  do  at  home,  and  that  is  the  way  I 
believe  in  doing  in  the  church." 
190 


a  f  aitbful  StewarO 

"  I  am  not  in  favor  of  declaring  war  upon 
the  men,"  said  Mrs.  Church.  "  We  couldn't 
very  well  get  along  without  them.  And 
yet  something  ought  to  be  done.  The  build- 
ing is  getting  out  of  repair  and  we  are 
doing  nothing  for  the  nursery  or  for  any- 
thing else  in  the  city.  I  think  the  best  thing 
is  to  go  right  ahead,  and  I  move  that  we 
proceed  at  once  to  reorganize  our  old 
societies." 

Thus  far  Mrs.  Mitchell  had  taken  no 
part,  but  Mrs.  Perkins  now  said :  "  I  wish 
we  might  know  what  our  pastor's  wife 
thinks  about  this."  Mrs.  Mitchell  replied, 
"  Since  coming  to  Libertyville,  Mr.  Mitchell 
and  I  have  frequently  discussed  the  situa- 
tion. I  need  not  say  that  we  are  not  satis- 
fied with  things  as  they  are.  I  fear,  how- 
ever, that  any  final  or  decisive  action  to-day 
would  be  a  little  premature.  It  is  a  matter 
of  such  importance  that  it  calls  for  time 
fully  to  consider  it.  Then  too,  whatever  is 
done  ought  to  have  the  approval  of  the  en- 
tire church.  I  am  sure  that  the  men  of 
this  church  are  earnestly  desirous  of  secur- 
ing the  same  ends  that  we  are  seeking, 
and  that  we  must  have  their  hearty  co- 
operation if  we  succeed.  I  visited  a  church 
recently  where  they  have  a  plan  of  work 
191 


Cbutcb  at 

with  which  I  was  greatly  pleased.  They 
had  but  one  woman's  society,  and  then  had 
committees  to  look  after  the  different  parts 
of  the  work.  They  told  me  that  it  worked 
admirably  and  that  they  would  not  for 
anything  go  back  to  the  old  method.  It 
helps  all  to  have  a  comprehensive  view  and 
promotes  harmony  and  good-will.  Now  if 
I  may  suggest  what  seems  wisest  to  me,  it 
is  that  all  we  do  to-day  be  to  appoint  a 
committee  to  confer  with  the  officers  of 
the  church  expressing  our  dissatisfaction 
with  existing  conditions  and  our  readiness 
to  co-operate  in  adopting  measures  for  im- 
provement. I  am  sure  that  Mr.  Mitchell 
will  be  very  glad  to  have  the  matter  opened 
in  this  way." 

This  suggestion  was  acted  upon  and  the 
meeting  adjourned  with  general  good  feel- 
ing, and  few,  if  any,  seemed  to  realize  that 
a  tactful  woman  had  averted  serious  trouble. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  tell  of  the  discussions 
which  followed  in  the  official  Board  and  in 
the  church.  When  the  question  of  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  missionary  societies  in  the  church 
was  being  considered,  Mr.  Mitchell  im- 
pressed all  with  his  deep  interest  in  every 
department  of  the  work.  I  remember  he 
said,  "  Brethren,  we  hear  a  great  deal  about 
192 


B  ffaitbful  Steward 

fundamentals  in  missions;  there  is  but  one 
fundamental,  and  that  is  loyalty  to  Jesus 
Christ.  He  died  for  all.  The  cause  is  one. 
The  field  is  the  world  and  we  are  to  work 
and  pray  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost  every- 
where." He  insisted  that  a  society  properly 
constituted  under  the  authority  of  the 
church  is  just  as  scriptural  as  a  committee, 
and  often  far  more  effective. 

The  result  of  it  all  was  that  a  resolution 
was  adopted,  that  plans  for  the  organization 
of  societies,  receiving  the  approval  of  the 
church,  might  be  put  into  effect. 

Following  this  we  had  fewer,  but  more 
efficient,  societies  than  we  had  had  before, 
and  even  Deacon  Stearns  said  :  "  I  am  glad 
we  have  a  pastor  who  can  make  folks  " — 
and  he  looked  at  the  women — "  see  what  the 
Bible  teaches."  And  Mrs.  Sowerby  said 
to  some  one  near  her :  "  It  does  not  seem 
;  to  occur  to  the  deacon  that  there  has  a  new 
idea  or  two  got  into  his  fossilized  brain." 

Doctor  Spear  had  made  trouble  for  sev- 
eral of  our  pastors.  He  thought  he  knew 
exactly  how  the  work  of  the  church  ought  to 
be  carried  on.  He  was  free  in  the  expres- 
sion of  his  opinions,  and  also  in  his  criti- 
cisms of  the  pastor.  Mr.  Green  always  felt 
N  193 


Gbe  Cburcb  at  iibertgville 

that  he  was  driven  away  by  Doctor  Spear.  I 
would  like  to  say  right  here,  as  a  layman, 
that  it  seems  to  me  that  retired  ministers 
ought  to  be  careful  not  to  take  a  prominent 
part  in  the  business  affairs  of  the  church, 
and  they  ought  to  be  especially  careful  in 
no  way  to  hinder  the  work  of  the  pastor 
or  weaken  his  influence.  Elder  Heartwell, 
of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  was  a  < 
model  of  what  a  retired  minister  should  be. 
Everybody  loved  him  and  he  was  a  true 
helper  of  the  pastor.  Doctor  Spear,  how- 
ever, was  a  very  different  man.  I  heard 
Mrs.  Sharp  say  one  day  to  Mrs.  Bradley: 
"  I  wish  that  old  backbiter,  Doctor  Spear, 
knew  enough  to  mind  his  own  business.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  to  the  church  if  his  , 
voice  would  fail  him  again." 

Before  Mr.  Mitchell  had  been  with  us  a 
year  it  began  to  be  known  that  he  was  not 
satisfactory  to  Doctor  Spear.  I  think  the 
real  trouble  was  that  the  pastor  did  not 
put  him  forward  and  fuss  over  him  enough 
to  suit  him.  In  fact,  in  sending  delegates  ; 
to  a  council  somewhere,  Doctor  Spear  was  ' 
left  off.  I  do  not  know  that  the  pastor  was 
responsible  for  this,  but  I  heard  Doctor 
Spear  say  to  Deacon  Stearns :  "  It  seems 
that  our  services  are  not  wanted  any  more. 
194 


a  tfattbful  Stewart 

I  presume  the  pastor  thinks  it  is  better 
policy  to  put  forward  men  whose  pocket- 
books  are  more  promising  than  ours."  Dea- 
con Stearns  replied,  "  Maybe  our  theology 
is  not  sufficiently  up-to-date  to  suit  him." 

Shortly  after  this,  in  a  case  of  discipline 
which  was  before  the  pastor  and  deacons, 
Doctor  Spear  was  not  appointed  on  the 
committee  of  investigation  and  Charley 
Goodwill  was  put  on.  Doctor  Spear,  who 
sat  next  to  me,  said :  "  The  pastor  is  utterly 
lacking  in  judgment.  Charley  Goodwill 
is  no  more  fit  than  a  ten-year-old  boy  for 
that  position."  I  was  afraid  there  was 
trouble  ahead. 

Not  long  after  this  Doctor  Spear  called 
on  me  at  the  store  and  wanted  a  private 
interview.  He  began :  "  Deacon  Bradley,  I 
come  to  you  in  my  perplexity  and  distress 
for  two  reasons :  first,  I  know  you  have  the 
interests  of  our  church  deeply  at  heart ;  and 
secondly,  I  regard  you  as  a  man  of  discre- 
tion and  sound  judgment."  He  paused  a 
moment  to  allow  this  bit  of  preliminary  flat- 
tery to  take  effect  and  then  proceeded :  "  I 
feel  that  you  have  not  failed  to  observe 
what  has,  as  I  have  reason  to  know,  pain- 
fully impressed  many;  our  pastor  is  not 
suited  to  this  field.  His  pulpit  ministrations 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

might  do  for  some  little  country  place,  but 
are  utterly  inadequate  for  a  pulpit  like  ours. 
There  are  strong  men,  doctors  of  divinity, 
in  the  other  pulpits  of  Libertyville,  and  we 
are  suffering  by  comparison.  I  am  told 
on  good  authority  that  Brother  Mitchell 
never  completed  his  theological  course. 
His  sermons  show  this.  They  lack  co- 
herence, logic,  and  cumulative  effect.  I 
have  been  looking  up  his  record,  and  I  find 
that  he  has  never  been  regarded  as  a  strong 
preacher.  When  Charley  Goodwill  and 
Elder  Heartwell  were  put  on  that  pulpit 
committee  I  knew  a  great  mistake  was  being 
made.  Neither  one  of  them  has  the  re- 
motest idea  of  the  first  principles  of 
homiletics." 

"  But,"  I  interrupted,  "  Mr.  Mitchell  has 
not  been  here  a  year  yet." 

"  That  is  just  the  point,"  added  Doctor 
Spear ;  "  his  year  is  almost  up  and  now  is 
the  time  to  act." 

"  His  work  seems  to  be  prospering,"  I 
replied,  "  and  I  see  no  reason  for  a  change." 

"  It  may  appear  prosperous  now,"  he 
said,  "  but  I  know  that  such  preaching  must 
result  in  failure,  and  we  must  act  before  the 
failure  comes.  I  assure  you  there  is  noth- 
ing personal  in  this,  and  it  gives  me  great 
196 


H  f  attbtul  StewatD 

pain  to  move  in  this  matter."    But  he  got 
no  encouragement  from  me  and  soon  left. 

The  next  week  there  was  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  deacons.  When  we  came  to- 
gether I  observed  that  Doctor  Spear  and 
Deacon  Stearns  were  not  there.  The  pas- 
tor called  the  meeting  to  order  and  said: 
"  I  do  not  know  the  object  of  this  meeting ; 
will  Deacon  Perkins,  who  called  us,  kindly 
state  the  business  to  come  before  us?" 

Deacon  Perkins  replied :  "  I  have  asked 
you  to  come  together  for  a  conference  upon 
a  matter  of  great  importance.  I  have 
learned  that  Doctor  Spear  is  at  his  old  tricks 
again,  trying  to  unsettle  the  pastor,  and  I 
for  one  think  it  is  about  time  to  unsettle 
him.  We  have  had  enough  of  this  kind  of 
business.  He  came  to  me,  one  day  last 
week,  and  with  flattery  and  argument  tried 
to  persuade  me  to  become  a  party  to  an 
effort  to  have  our  pastor  close  his  work  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  And  I  find  he  has  ap- 
proached every  other  deacon  except  Charley 
Goodwill  in  the  same  way." 

Before  the  pastor  had  an  opportunity  to 
speak  Deacon  Smith  said :  "  I  move  that  a 
committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  proceed 
with  disciplinary  measures  against  Doctor 
Spear."  I  immediately  seconded  the  mo- 
197 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

tion.  The  pastor  then  spoke :  "  I  am  taken 
entirely  by  surprise  by  what  has  been  stated. 
This  is  certainly  a  matter  of  gravity,  and 
must  not  be  dealt  with  hastily." 

"  If  this  were  his  first  offense,  pastor," 
added  Deacon  Smith,  "  this  action  might 
seem  hasty,  but  Doctor  Spear  is  an  old 
offender  along  this  line,  and  we  are  utterly 
tired  of  it." 

"  There  is  a  scriptural  injunction,"  re- 
plied the  pastor,  "  about  going  first  of  all 
to  thy  brother  alone  to  adjust  difficulties. 
Before  such  action  as  you  now  propose  is 
taken  I  would  like  to  call  on  Doctor  Spear. 
I  think  possibly  we  may  be  able  to  fix 
matters  up." 

After  further  discussion  the  motion  was 
withdrawn  to  await  the  result  of  the  pas- 
tor's interview  with  Doctor  Spear.  The 
interview  was  never  made  public.  But  this 
I  know,  we  heard  no  more  complaints  from 
Doctor  Spear,  and  he  gradually  became  an 
earnest  supporter  of  the  pastor.  Mrs.  Spear 
told  Mrs.  Bradley :  "  The  doctor  says  our 
pastor  is  a  man  of  great  plainness  and  kind- 
ness of  speech,  and  that  he  had  not  fully 
understood  him  at  first."  And  she  added: 
"  I  do  not  know  what  has  changed  the  doc- 
tor so,  but  he  is  becoming  quite  fond  of 
108 


H  raitbfut  Steward 

the  pastor  and  thinks  he  is  improving 
greatly  in  his  preaching."  I  could  not  help 
saying  to  my  wife :  "  The  preaching  has 
been  all  right  all  the  time;  I  think  the 
improvement  is  in  the  doctor  himself." 

A  year  or  two  after  this  the  church  just 
across  the  street  from  us  had  a  popular 
preacher.  He  had  crowded  houses  and 
the  newspaper^  were  constantly  writing  him 
up,  and  all  Libertyville  seemed  carried  away 
with  Doctor  Showman.  Our  congrega- 
tions, especially  in  the  evening,  were  seri- 
ously affected.  Not  a  few  of  the  members 
of  our  church  were  frequently  seen  at  the 
church  across  the  way.  Matters  went  on 
in  this  way  until  some  of  us  decided  that 
something  must  be  done.  We  determined 
to  call  together  a  few  of  the  representative 
men  of  the  church  for  a  conference. 

Let  me  say  right  here  that  my  experi- 
ence leads  me  to  think  that  secret  confer- 
ences of  this  nature  are  not  to  be  encour- 
aged. It  is  reasonably  certain  that  they 
cannot  be  kept  secret,  and  some  who  think 
they  are  representative  men  but  who  were 
not  invited  will  make  trouble,  and  some  will 
imagine  that  the  church  is  being  run  by  a 
clique.  But  we  thought  we  were  doing  all 
right  and  a  conference  was  held  at  my 
199 


Cbe  Cburcb  at 

home.  There  were  ten  present.  After  a 
discussion  of  several  hours  we  reached  the 
following  conclusions:  First,  we  must  take 
steps  to  secure  better  music.  There  were 
two  or  three  in  the  choir  who  would  have 
to  go  out.  In  fact,  several  thought  an  en- 
tire reorganization  was  necessary.  Sec- 
ondly, disciplinary  measures  ought  to  be 
begun  against  those  members  who  are  leav- 
ing their  own  services  to  attend  those  of 
another  church.  We  all  regarded  this  as  a 
grave  offense.  Thirdly,  we  were  in  favor 
of  taking  steps  to  get  our  pastor  and  our 
work  into  the  newspapers  more.  We  felt 
that  the  discriminations  being  made  by  the 
papers  were  unfair.  Fourthly  and  finally, 
we  decided  that  it  should  be  kindly  sug- 
gested to  our  pastor  that  he  put  more  work 
on  his  sermons  and  give  more  careful  at- 
tention to  those  things  which  would  tend 
to  make  his  pulpit  ministrations  attractive 
and  popular.  It  was  thought  by  one  or 
two  that  possibly  the  time  had  come  for  a 
change  in  pastors,  but  all  were  agreed  that 
such  a  step  should  not  be  considered  until 
we  had  made  a  fair  trial  of  the  measures 
suggested.  We  adjourned  to  meet  in  one 
week,  when  we  would  have  the  pastor  with 
us  to  lay  before  him  our  plans. 
200 


a  ffaitbful  Stewart 

Before  the  time  of  the  next  meeting  I 
met  Doctor  Spear  on  the  street.  Of  course 
he  had  not  been  at  the  conference.  He 
stopped  me  and  said :  "  Deacon  Bradley,  I 
understand  you  and  a  few  others  are  hold- 
ing secret  meetings  to  try  to  get  rid  of  our 
pastor  because  he  cannot  draw  crowds  like 
that  inflated  dealer  in  bombast  across  the 
street.  It  seems  to  me,  sir,  that  your  little 
coterie  is  assuming  altogether  too  much, 
and  that  you  had  better  consult  with  some  of 
the  rest,  and  remember  that  the  church  is 
likely  to  have  something  to  say  about  this." 
I  saw  he  was  very  much  excited  and  as- 
sured him  that  he  was  entirely  mistaken, 
that  no  one  was  trying  to  get  rid  of  the 
pastor.  But  I  confess  that  what  he  said 
made  me  feel  very  uncomfortable. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  and  the  pas- 
tor was  present.  He  listened  intently  to 
the  suggestions  we  had  to  make,  and  I  saw 
on  his  face  an  expression  of  pain  that  made 
me  heartily  wish  that  I  had  had  nothing 
to  do  with  this  business.  He  then,  with 
manifest  effort  to  control  his  emotions  and 
with  an  earnestness  that  touched  every 
heart,  said :  "  Brethren,  I  have  not  been 
blind  to  the  situation  which  causes  you  so 
much  anxiety  and  which  has  led  to  this 
20  T 


Sbe  Gbuccb  at  Xtbertsville 

conference,  and  I  have  been  trying  to  do 
my  work  with  greater  faithfulness  and  de- 
votion. I  have  listened  with  profound  in- 
terest to  your  suggestions,  but  I  fear  the 
thought  which  underlies  them  is  not  the 
right  one  to  control  in  this  matter.  Your 
plan  is  for  us  to  enter  into  direct  compe- 
tition with  our  neighboring  church.  To  do 
this  is  to  fail.  I  cannot  lead  you  in  a 
movement  of  this  kind,  and  if  I  thought 
these  suggestions  were  the  result  of  your 
mature  and  final  judgment  I  should  feel 
that  my  work  as  your  pastor  would  have  to 
terminate.  Sensationalism  in  religion  is 
short-lived  and  harmful.  Our  duty  is  not 
to  try  to  outdo  some  one  else,  but  to  give 
ourselves  fully  to  the  Master's  service  for 
his  glory.  If  we  will  do  this  we  need  have 
no  concern  about  the  outcome  of  the  work." 
He  paused  a  moment  and  then  added :  "  I 
have  no  question  whatever  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  brethren  before  me,  but  the  fact  of 
your  conference  last  week  is  known 
throughout  the  church  and  its  purpose  is 
misunderstood.  I  fear  that  serious  trouble 
is  likely  to  result  unless  great  care  is  exer- 
cised. I  think,  however,  that  I  can  make 
a  statement  next  Sunday  morning  which 
will  set  everything  right  if  you  wish  it." 
202 


B  ffaitbful  Stewatfc 

Charley  Goodwill  was  the  first  to  speak: 
"  This  is  not  the  first  time  I  have  made  a 
fool  of  myself.  I  see  it  all  now  and  am 
ashamed  of  myself,  and  ask  the  pastor  to 
forgive  me.  I  am  in  favor  of  dropping 
this  whole  matter  right  here  and  now,  and 
of  asking  the  pastor  to  fix  it  up  for  us  the 
best  he  can ;  and  then  let  us  all  enter  upon 
the  work  of  the  church  with  renewed  zeal 
and  hold  no  more  secret  conferences." 

All  agreed  with  him.  In  his  statement 
the  pastor  dwelt  upon  his  desire  and  the 
earnest  desire  of  some  of  the  brethren  and 
the  wish  of  all  for  better  things  in  the 
church.  He  made  no  allusion  whatever  to 
the  other  church,  but  so  opened  his  heart 
and  so  magnified  our  real  needs  that  from 
that  day  the  tide  turned,  and  the  blessings 
began  to  come.  I  have  often  thought  how 
easily  he  might  have  made  everything  dif- 
ferent. I  am  satisfied  that  there  would  be 
very  little  trouble  in  our  churches  if  all  the 
pastors  had  the  spirit  and  tact  which  char- 
acterized Brother  Mitchell.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  the  pastors  are  usually  the  cause 
of  church  troubles,  but  I  do  believe  that 
they  have  it  within  their  power  to  prevent 
the  most  of  them. 

I  might  go  on  indefinitely  with  these 
203 


Cbc  Gbuccb  at 

Libertyville  reminiscences,  but  I  fear  I  have 
already  become  tiresome,  and  will  stop  here. 
I  am  grateful  to  any  who  have  been  suffi- 
ciently interested  to  read  what  I  have  writ- 
ten. It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me 
to  live  over  again  in  memory  so  many  of 
the  dear  old  Libertyville  days,  and  it  is 
with  a  feeling  of  regret  that  I  lay  down 
my  pen. 

In  reviewing  what  I  have  written  I  won- 
der if  I  have  dwelt  so  much  upon  the  pe- 
culiarities of  some  of  the  good  folks,  and 
upon  the  troubles  which  arose  from  time  to 
time,  as  to  leave  a  wrong  impression  in  the 
minds  of  any.  The  church  of  God  is  very 
dear  to  me.  It  is  the  grandest  institution 
on  earth,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  noblest, 
most  self-sacrificing,  most  Christlike  men 
and  women  in  this  world  are  found  among 
those  who  are  bearing  the  burdens  and 
directing  the  activities  of  the  churches. 

I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord! 

The  house  of  thine  abode, 
The  church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 

With  his  own  precious  blood. 

For  her  my  tears  shall  fall, 

For  her  my  prayers  ascend; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 

Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end. 
204 


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